THE  CITIES  OF 


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Northern  It 


GRANT  ALLEN:f 
HISTORICAL   GUIDES 


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liiiiii! 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 


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The  Cities  of 

Northern  Italy 


GRANT  ALLEN'S  HISTORICAL  GUIDE 
BOOKS  TO  THE  PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF 
EUROPE  TREATING  CONCISELY  AND 
THOROUGHLY  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL 
HISTORIC  AND  ARTISTIC  POINTS 
OF  INTEREST  THEREIN 


George   C.   Williamson,   Litt.  D, 


NEW   YORK 

A.  WESSELS   COMPANY 
1 90 1 


u 


ORIGINAL    INTRODUCTION 


'  I  ""HE  object  and  plan  of  these  Historical  Handbooks  is 

\      I      somewhat  different  from  that  of  any  other  guides  at 

present  before  the  public.     They  do  not  compete  or 

clash  with  such  existing  works  ;  they  are  rather  intended  to 
'  supplement  than  to  supplant  them.     My  purpose  is  not  to 

-  direct  the  stranger  through  the  streets  and  squares  of  an 
unknown  town  towards  the  buildings  or  sights  which  he 

t\  may  desire  to  visit  ;  still  less  is  it  my  design  to  give  him 
J  practical   information  about   hotels,  cab   fares,    omnibuses, 
LT  tramways,  and  other  every-day  material  conveniences.     For 
such  details,  the  traveller  must  still  have  recourse  to  the 
trusty  pages  of  his  Baedeker,  his  Joanne,  or  his  Murray. 
I  desire  rather  to  supply  the  tourist  who  wishes  to  use  his 
travel  as  a  means  of  culture  with  such  historical  and  anti- 
quarian information  as  will  enable  him  to  understand,  and 
therefore  to  enjoy,  the  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  and 
minor  arts  of  the  towns  he  visits.     In  one  word,  it  is  my 
object  to  give  the  reader  in  a  very  compendious  form  the 
result  of  all  those  inquiries  which  have  naturally  suggested 
^  themselves   to   my   own    mind   during    thirty-five   years  of 
,  foreign  travel,  the  solution  of  which  has  cost  myself  a  good 
^  deal  of  research,  thought,  and   labour,    beyond   the   facts 

-  which  I  could  find  in  the  ordinary  handbooks. 

J       For  several  years  past  I  have  devoted  myself  to  collecting 

:  and  arranging  material  for  a  set  of  books  to  embody  the 

idea  I  had  thus  entertained.     I   earnestly  hope  they  may 

-  meet  a  want  on  the  part  of  tourists,  especially  Americans, 

-  who,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  usually  come  to  Europe 
)  with  an  honest  and  reverent  desire  to  learn  from  the  Old 


6  ORIGINAL    INTRODUCTION 

World  whatever  of  value  it  has  to  teach  them,  and  who 
are  prepared  to  take  an  amount  of  pains  in  turning  their 
trip  to  good  account  which  is  both  rare  and  praiseworthy. 
For  such  readers  I  shall  call  attention  at  times  to  other 
sources  of  information. 

These  guide-books  will  deal  more  particularly  with  the 
Great  Towns  where  objects  of  art  and  antiquity  are  numer- 
ous. In  every  one  of  them,  the  general  plan  pursued  will 
be  somewhat  as  follows.  First  will  come  the  inquiry  why 
a  town  ever  gathered  together  at  all  at  that  particular  spot 
— what  induced  the  aggregation  of  human  beings  rather 
there  than  elsewhere.  Next,  we  shall  consider  why  that 
town  grew  to  social  or  political  importance  and  what  were 
the  stages  by  which  it  assumed  its  present  shape.  Thirdly, 
we  shall  ask  why  it  gave  rise  to  that  higher  form  of  handi- 
craft which  we  know  as  Art,  and  towards  what  particular 
arts  it  especially  gravitated.  After  that,  we  shall  take  in 
detail  the  various  strata  of  its  growth  or  development, 
examining  the  buildings  and  works  of  art  which  they  con- 
tain in  historical  order,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  tracing  the 
causes  which  led  to  their  evolution.  In  particular,  we  shall 
lay  stress  upon  the  origin  and  meaning  of  each  structure  as 
an  organic  whole,  and  upon  the  allusions  or  symbols  which 
its  fabric  embodies. 

A  single  instance  will  show  the  method  upon  which  I 
intend  to  proceed  better  than  any  amount  of  general  de- 
scription. A  church,  as  a  rule,  is  built  over  the  body  or 
relics  of  a  particular  saint,  in  whose  special  honour  it  was 
originally  erected.  That  saint  was  usually  one  of  great 
local  importance  at  the  moment  of  its  erection,  or  was 
peculiarly  implored  against  plague,  foreign  enemies,  or  some 
other  pressing  and  dreaded  misfortune.  In  dealing  with 
such  a  church,  then,  I  endeavour  to  show  what  were  the 
circumstances  which  led  to  its  erection,  and  what  memorials 
of  these  circumstances  it  still  retains.  In  other  cases  it  may 
derive  its  origin  from  some  special  monastic  body — Bene-- 
dictine,  Dominican,  Franciscan  — and  may  therefore  be  full 
of  the  peculiar  symbolism  and   historical  allusion  of  the 


ORIGINAL   INTRODUCTION  7 

order  who  founded  it.  Wherever  I  have  to  deal  with  such 
a  church,  I  try  as  far  as  possible  to  exhibit  the  effect  which 
its  origin  had  upon  its  architecture  and  decoration  ;  to  trace 
the  image  of  the  patron  saint  in  sculpture  or  stained  glass 
throughout  the  fabric  ;  and  to  set  forth  the  connection  of 
the  whole  design  with  time  and  place,  with  order  and  pur- 
pose. In  short,  instead  of  looking  upon  monuments  of  the 
sort  mainly  as  the  product  of  this  or  that  architect,  I  look 
upon  them  rather  as  material  embodiments  of  the  spirit  of 
the  age — crystallisations,  as  it  were,  in  stone  and  bronze, 
in  form  and  colour,  of  great  popular  enthusiasms. 

By  thus  concentrating  attention  on  what  is  essential  and 
important  in  a  town,  I  hope  to  give  in  a  comparatively  short 
space,  though  with  inevitable  conciseness,  a  fuller  account 
than  is  usually  given  of  the  chief  architectural  and  monu- 
mental works  of  the  principal  art-cities.  In  dealing  with 
Paris,  for  example,  I  shall  have  little  to  say  about  such 
modern  constructions  as  the  Champs  filysees  or  the  Eiffel 
Tower  ;  still  less,  of  course,  about  the  Morgue,  the  Cata- 
combs, the  waxworks  of  the  Musee  Grevin,  and  the  cele- 
brated Excursion  in  the  Paris  Sewers.  The  space  thus 
saved  from  vulgar  wonders  I  shall  hope  to  devote  to  fuller 
explanation  of  Notre-Dame  and  the  Sainte  Chapelle,  of  the 
mediaeval  carvings  or  tapestries  of  Cluny,  and  of  the  pic- 
tures or  sculptures  in  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre.  Similarly 
in  Florence,  whatever  I  save  from  description  of  the  Cascine 
and  even  of  the  beautiful  Viale  dei  Colli  (where  explanation 
is  needless  and  word-painting  superfluous),  I  shall  give  up 
to  the  Bargello,  the  Uffizi,  and  the  Pitti  Palace.  The  passing 
life  of  the  moment  does  not  enter  into  my  plan  ;  I  regard 
each  town  I  endeavour  to  illustrate  mainly  as  a  museum 
of  its  own  history. 

For  this  reason,  too,  I  shall  devote  most  attention  in 
every  case  to  what  is  locally  illustrative,  and  less  to  what 
is  merely  adventitious  and  foreign.  In  Paris,  for  instance, 
I  shall  have  more  to  say  about  truly  Parisian  art  and  history, 
as  embodied  in  St.  Denis,  the  lie  de  la  Cite,  and  the  shrine 
of  Ste.  Genevieve,  than  about  the  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 


8  ORIGINAL   INTRODUCTION 

collections  of  the  Louvre.  In  Florence,  again,  I  shall  deal 
rather  with  the  Etruscan  remains,  with  Giotto  and  Fra 
Angelico,  with  the  Duonio  and  the  Campanile,  than  with 
the  admirable  Memlincks  and  Rubenses  of  the  Uffizi  and 
the  Pitti,  or  with  the  beautiful  Van  der  Goes  of  the  Hospital 
of  Santa  Maria.  In  Bruges  and  Brussels,  once  more,  I 
shall  be  especially  Flemish  ;  in  the  Rhine  towns,  Rhenish  ; 
in  Venice,  Venetian.  I  shall  assign  a  due  amount  of  space, 
indeed,  to  the  foreign  collections,  but  I  shall  call  attention 
chiefly  to  those  monuments  or  objects  which  are  of  entirely 
local  and  typical  value. 

As  regards  the  character  of  the  information  given,  it  will 
be  mainly  historical,  antiquarian,  and,  above  all,  explanatory. 
I  am  not  a  connoisseur — an  adept  in  the  difficult  modern 
science  of  distinguishing  the  handicraft  of  various  masters, 
in  painting  or  sculpture,  by  minute  signs  and  delicate  in- 
ferential processes.  In  such  matters,  I  shall  be  well  con- 
tent to  follow  the  lead  of  the  most  authoritative  experts. 
Nor  am  I  an  art-critic — a  student  versed  in  the  technique 
of  the  studios  and  the  dialect  of  the  modelling-room.  In 
such  matters,  again,  I  shall  attempt  little  more  than  to 
accept  the  general  opinion  of  the  most  discriminative  judges. 
What  I  aim  at  rather  is  to  expound  the  history  and  meaning 
of  each  work— to  put  the  intelligent  reader  in  such  a  posi- 
tion that  he  may  judge  for  himself  of  the  aesthetic  beauty 
and  success  of  the  object  before  him.  To  recognise  the 
fact  that  this  is  a  Perseus  and  Andromeda,  that  a  St. 
Barbara  enthroned,  the  other  an  obscure  episode  in  the 
legend  of  St.  Philip,  is  not  art-criticism,  but  it  is  often  an 
almost  indispensable  prelude  to  the  formation  of  a  right 
and  sound  judgment.  We  must  know  what  the  artist  was 
trying  to  represent  before  we  can  feel  sure  what  measure 
of  success  he  has  attained  in  his  representation. 

For  the  general  study  of  Christian  art,  alike  in  archi- 
tecture, sculpture,  and  painting,  no  treatises  are  more  useful 
for  the  tourist  to  carry  with  him  for  constant  reference  than 
Mrs.  Jameson's  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  and  Legends 
of  the  Madonna  (London,  Longmans).     For  works  of  Italian 


ORIGINAL   INTRODUCTION  9 

art,  both  in  Italy  and  elsewhere,  Kugler's  Italian  Schools 
of  Painting  is  an  invaluable  vade-fnecwn.  These  books 
should  be  carried  about  by  everybody  everywhere.  Other 
works  of  special  and  local  importance  will  occasionally  be 
noticed  under  each  particular  city,  church,  or  museum. 

I  cannot  venture  to  hope  that  handbooks  containing  such 
a  mass  of  facts  as  these  will  be  wholly  free  from  errors  and 
misstatements,  above  all  in  early  editions.  I  can  only  beg 
those  who  may  detect  any  such  to  point  them  out,  without 
unnecessary  harshness,  to  the  author,  care  of  the  publisher, 
and  if  possible  to  assign  reasons  for  any  dissentient  opinion. 

Grant  Allen. 


PUBLISHER'S   NOTE 

After  completing  the  first  four  volumes  of  this  series, 
"  Paris,"  "  Florence,"  "The  Cities  of  Belgium,"  and  "  Venice," 
Mr.  Grant  Allen's  labours  were  cut  short  by  his  death.  He 
had,  however,  sufficiently  mapped  out  the  plan  of  the  series 
for  sympathetic  hands  to  carry  on  his  work,  and  the  pub- 
lisher has  attempted  in  this  and  the  succeeding  volumes 
to  enlist  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Grant  Allen's  friends,  writers 
whom  he  himself,  it  is  believed,  would  have  chosen  to  help 
him. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


I  HAVE  been  asked  to  continue  the  series  of  guides  which 
was  originally  started  by  my  late  good  friend  Grant 
Allen,  and  of  which  he  had  issued  four  volumes.  I  had 
talked  over  the  series  with  Mr.  Allen  many  times,  and  for 
him  I  checked  over  the  guide  to  Florence  when  I  was 
staying  in  that  city,  and  his  letter  as  to  the  suggestions  that 
I  made  is  before  me.  I  know  well  what  were  his  ideas  as  to 
the  series,  and  with  very  many  of  his  wishes  I  am  in  the 
fullest  accord.  In  preparing  this  volume  I  have  endeavoured 
to  follow  out  the  method  that  he  adopted  as  nearly  as  I  could, 
but  it  will,  I  am  sure,  be  understood  by  my  readers  that  it  is 
not  possible  for  one  man  to  write  in  the  same  manner  as 
another  man  has  written,  or  to  lose  his  own  identity  in  a 
book  of  this  kind,  which  derives  much  of  its  value  from  the 
personal  element  that  enters  into  it.  Grant  Allen  was  a 
much  older  man  than  I  am,  and  a  man  of  much  greater 
experience.  He  was  the  possessor  of  certain  theories  as 
to  art  which  he  had  himself  developed,  and  which  were 
peculiar  to  him,  and  not  quite  easy  for  any  one  else  to 
follow  without  the  special  bias  that  he  had  towards  them, 
and  the  years  of  study  that  he  had  given  to  them.  His  idea, 
which  was  that  of  button-holing  the  tourist,  seemed  to  me 
to  be  an  admirable  one,  and  in  his  books  he  carried  out 
the  art  of  button-holing  until  it  became  a  science.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  it  is  well  for  the  attention  of  a  tourist  to  be 
directed  to  what  he  should  certainly  see  in  a  town,  to  what 
concerns  the  history  of  a  town,  and  to  be  tol  J  why  he  should 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE  n 

see  it,  and  what  he  should  learn  from  it  ;  and  this  method  I 
have  adopted,  feeling  the  more  I  write  how  great  is  the  task 
of  helping  the  tourist  to  gain  an  intelligent  idea  of  Italy, 
and  how  little  ability  I  possess  for  so  important  a  work. 
I  launch  my  little  book  with  a  deep  sense  of  inability  to 
adequately  follow  my  friend,  for  whose  learning  and  skill  I 
had  the  greatest  respect,  and  I  beg  that  it  may  be  received 
as  leniently  as  possible,  as  it  is  but  a  trial  trip  in  unknown 
waters,  and  succeeding  volumes  may,  I  hope,  be  more  worthy 
of  the  confidence  that  has  been  placed  in  me. 

May  I  say  a  few  words  as  to  general  conduct  in  these 
northern  towns,  as  I  give  place  to  no  one  in  my  love  and 
admiration  for  Italy,  and  my  constant  visits  to  its  shores 
have  suggested  that  some  hints  may  not  be  altogether  un- 
acceptable to  my  readers.  These  hints  are  not  so  much 
needed  by  the  visitor  to  the  larger  cities,  as  they  have  become 
modern  in  their  customs  and  habits,  but  in  the  smaller  and 
less  visited  places  they  will  be  found  to  possess  special 
importance. 

May  I  first  say  that  the  tourist  in  Italy  should  never 
forget  that  he  can  obtain  almost  any  aid  he  needs  by  the 
exercise  of  politeness.  Let  him  never  forget  that  he  is  in 
a  country  of  gentlemen,  and  that  the  Italian  peasant  is  the 
most  truly  courteous  person  in  Europe.  A  special  attention 
to  courteous  words,  to  the  constant  use  of  "scusi"  and 
"permesso"  and  frequent  removal  of  the  hat,  will  win  for 
him  many  an  act  of  courtesy  that  the  less  careful  tourist  will 
wish  for  in  vain.  It  is  always  surprising  to  me  how  very 
much  trouble  an  Italian  will  take  in  order  to  help  a  foreigner 
to  find  his  way,  or  to  see  what  he  is  specially  desirous  ot 
seeing  ;  but  the  Italian  expects  in  return  for  all  this  trouble 
the  recompense  of  politeness  that  we  as  Englishmen  are  not 
so  ready  to  give.  It  is  the  rarest  possible  thing  to  find  an 
Italian  who  will  not  at  once  raise  his  hat  in  response  to  the 
similar  action  of  the  tourist,  and  who  will  not  at  once  take 


12  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

infinite  pains,  not  only  to  understand  the  inaccurate  language 
in  which  he  is  addressed,  but  to  go  out  of  his  way  to 
direct  the  traveller,  with  e\'ery  attention  to  his  desires,  and 
then  with  a  bow  and  a  smiling  "  niente "  pass  on  his  way. 
I  shall  be  forgiven,  I  hope,  for  laying  some  stress  on  this 
feature  of  Italian  life,  and  for  begging  my  readers  to  put  it 
to  the  test,  and  they  will  assuredly  find  that  a  bow  on 
entering  and  on  leaving  a  carriage,  on  passing  a  person  on 
the  path  or  road,  and  on  entering  or  leaving  a  shop  will 
make  their  sojourn  in  Italy  much  the  pleasanter  and  win 
for  them  every  courtesy  that  they  can  desire. 

One  other  word  on  a  subject  of  similar  importance. 

Would  it  not  be  well  for  the  travelling  tourist  always  to 
try  to  remember  that  certain  ceremonies  that  he  may  see 
may  have  no  special  importance  to  him,  but  are  of  the 
deepest  importance  to  the  people  whose  guest  he  is  for  the 
time,  and  that  therefore  the  opinions  of  the  people  should  be 
studied  rather  than  his  own.  For  example,  in  a  church  the 
service  may  have  no  meaning  to  the  tourist,  but  to  the  people 
it  is  their  religion,  and  it  is  well  to  move  about  as  quietly  as 
possible,  not  to  go  in  front  of  the  congregation  whilst  they 
are  worshipping,  even  though  it  may  be  to  see  an  important 
picture  and  the  tourist  may  be  pressed  for  time,  to  behave  in 
reverent  manner  when  passing  the  altar  before  which  the  red 
lamp  can  be  seen  burning,  and  to  raise  the  hat  when  a  funeral 
is  seen  coming  past  the  spectator.  These  are,  it  will  be  said, 
but  trivial  points  to  which  to  direct  attention  ;  but  I  fear 
that  too  many  of  us  consider  that  our  visits  to  Italy  are  so 
much  advantage  to  the  Italian  people  that  we  are  absolved 
from  the  ordinary  acts  of  politeness  towards  the  "  benighted 
people,"  and  that  to  follow  their  practices  is  condoning  what 
we  are  pleased  to  consider  their  superstitions.  Depend  upon 
it  the  opinion  that  the  average  Italian  has  of  a  tourist  is 
very  much  the  result  of  this  snobbish  manner  on  the  part  of 
ill-bred  travellers,  and  it  is  because  I  want  the  readers  of  my 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  13 

book  to  enjoy  thoroughly  their  visit  to  Italy,  and  to  leave 
behind  them  pleasant  memories  in  the  towns  that  they  have 
visited,  that  I  lay  stress  on  their  behaviour. 

A  few  other  practical  words  may  not  be  out  of  place.  It 
is  always  well  to  get  to  a  station  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes 
ere  you  have  to  leave  it.  Italians  cannot  be  hurried,  and 
the  registration  of  trunks  has  to  be  done  seriatim,  and  is 
slow  work.  The  tickets  have  also  to  be  "  vised  "  seriatim, 
and  the  tourist  must  take  his  place  at  the  end  of  the  queue 
and  wait  his  turn  to  be  attended  to.  The  facchini  all 
expect  some  small  tip.  They  are  very  poorly  paid  and 
depend  mainly  upon  the  public  for  their  means,  not  being 
paid  wages  as  in  England  or  America.  They  should  not 
be  paid  till  their  work  is  done  ;  that  is,  the  man  who  takes 
your  hand-baggage  should  not  be  paid  till  he  has  put  it 
into  the  carriage  for  you.  If  you  have  to  wait  a  long 
time  and  he  has  to  go  oft"  duty,  ask  him  to  send  you 
another  man  and  he  will  at  once  do  so,  and  then  you  can 
discharge  the  first.  Do  not  take  up  more  room  in  the 
carriage  than  you  require  ;  there  are  other  people  travelling 
besides  yourself !  Never  remove  luggage  from  a  seat  that 
has  been  engaged  by  some  other  person,  as  there  is  nothing 
that  an  Italian  considers  worse  form  than  such  behaviour 
and  he  will  resent  the  action  strongly.  In  a  picture 
gallery,  if  you  have  time,  go  round  each  room  with  your 
guide-book  closed  before  you  attempt  to  use  it,  trying  to 
see  what  are  the  fine  and  important  pictures  from  your  own 
ideas  ere  you  look  at  what  I  have  to  tell  you,  and  so  try  to 
educate  yourself  in  discerning  a  fine  work  and  in  deciding 
to  what  school  or  artist  it  belongs.  Remember  that  a  visit 
to  Italy  is  not  a  mere  pleasure-trip.  It  should  be  an  educa- 
tion. Italy  is  the  great  schoolroom  of  the  world,  and  in 
painting,  in  architecture,  in  sculpture,  in  glass,  in  design,  as 
well  as  in  language,  literature,  poetry,  music,  and  costume, 
she  has  been  teaching  the  world  ever  since  she  had  an 


14  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

existence.  Even  in  manners  we  shall  remember  what  we 
owe  to  Italy  when  we  realise  that  when  Englishmen  still  ate 
with  their  fingers,  Italy  had  introduced,  to  the  great  amaze- 
ment of  those  Englishmen  who  travelled  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  use  of  a  fork. 

Every  one  of  the  cities  to  which  1  shall  in  turn  take  you 
has  had  its  own  special  history,  not  so  much  as  part  of  a 
greater  whole,  but  as  a  self-contained  kingdom.  To  under- 
stand Italy  you  must  understand  the  history  of  each  pro- 
vincial capital,  which  had  its  own  court  and  its  own 
school  of  painting,  and  it  is  to  enable  you  to  appreciate 
these  special  features  that  this  series  of  guides  has  been 
written. 

Do  not  rush  through  the  towns  as  though  one  resembled 
the  other.  Each  is  quite  different  from  all  others.  Each 
merits  careful  study,  and  each  will  be  found  replete  with 
interest.  I  have  only  noted  the  items  of  supreme  import- 
ance, but  you  will  find  plenty  more  in  each  town  to  see  and 
to  study,  and  if  only  your  time  permits,  it  is  far  better  to 
spend  a  week  in  each  town,  and  only  see  and  thoroughly 
understand  three  towns,  than  to  rush  through  ten  and  bring 
away  a  confused  idea  of  them  all,  without  any  distinctive 
knowledge  of  their  own  special  features. 

I  have  been  obliged  to  write  this  guide  with  a  view  of 
helping  those  whose  time  is  very  limited,  but  each  person 
can  enlarge  it  for  himself,  and  in  the  regular  guides  that  I 
counsel  the  tourist  to  carry  with  him,  Baedeker  for  use 
and  information,  and  Murray  for  literary  excellence  and  for 
real  study,  he  will  find  plenty  of  means  of  filling  up  as  much 
time  as  he  can  spare  in  each  separate  town. 

In  the  galleries  I  have  not  put  as  much  detail  of  explana- 
tion as  Grant  Allen  put  in  his  books.  I  find  from  conversa- 
tion with  those  who  have  used  them  that  he  put  more  than 
many  persons  have  considered  necessary  ;  but  if  my  readers 
will  criticise  this  volume  I  will  promise  full  consideration  to 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE  15 

their  views  in  the  next,  and  if  I  have  been  too  bald  in  my 
descriptions,  will  strive  to  modify  such  baldness  when  the 
next  volume  is  written. 

It  will  I  hope  be  well  borne  in  mind  by  the  reader  of  this 
guide-book  that  it  does  not  pretend  to  do  more  than  call 
attention  to  what  I  consider  the  most  important  things  in 
each  town,  and  that  for  the  selection  I  alone  must  be  held 
responsible.  It  does  not  profess  to  supplant  the  ordinary 
guides,  but  to  supplement  them,  and  it  only  professes  to  help 
the  intelligent  tourist  to  get  an  idea  as  to  the  towns  through 
which  he  passes,  and  to  lead  him  to  study  them  and  their 
history  more  and  more. 

I  have  been  much  helped  in  the  various  towns  which  I 
have  visited,  and  desire  to  return  my  very  grateful  thanks  to 
all  those  persons  who  have  so  obligingly  assisted  me.  I 
would  like  specially  to  thank  Signor  Ricci  of  the  Brera, 
Signer  Frizzoni  of  the  Poli-Pezzoli  Gallery,  Professor  Bocci 
and  Signor  Fabri  of  Ravenna,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  Hobart  Cust 
and  Mr.  Burton  of  Florence,  for  kindly  aid  and  information  ; 
also  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Frank  of  the  Hotel  Brun  at  Bologna, 
Signor  Zoli  of  Ravenna,  Signor  Greppi  of  Verona,  and 
another  old  friend,  Signor  Baer  at  the  Hotel-de-la- Villa  at 
Milan.  To  them  and  to  all  others  who  assisted  me,  I  return 
my  very  hearty  thanks.  G.  C.  VV. 


The  Mount,  Guildford, 
January  1901. 


THE 

CITIES    OF    NORTHERN    ITALY 


THE  cities  of  Italy,  considered  from  a  historical  point 
of  view,  especially  those   in   the  north,  do   not   re- 
present detached  portions  of  a  united  whole,  as  do 
the    towns   of   other   countries,   or  as   they   are   supposed 
to  do  at  the  present  time,  but  they  represent,  rather,  sepa- 
rate powers,  each  having  its  own  individual  history. 

They  were  all  quite  distinct  one  from  the  other,  separated 
w^idely  in  customs,  dialect,  art,  and  government,  and  they 
were  often  at  war  one  with  the  other,  and  in  turn  being 
held  or  holding  possession  of  their  adversaries. 

These  facts  must  never  be  lost  sight  of  when  considering 
the  history  and  growth  of  these  cities,  as  it  is  to  their  very 
independence  of  each  other  and  to  their  constant  warfare 
against  the  great  Imperial  power  that  sought  to  weld  them 
into  one  whole,  that  they  possess  so  much  interest  and  so 
much  individuality  in  their  monuments  and  their  art. 

Even  from  them  one  city,  Ravenna,  stands  out  distinctly, 
as  it  can  never  be  grouped  with  any  other  city  in  Europe, 
and  fills  a  place  in  history  that  is  unique. 

The  other  towns,  Milan,  Verona,  Padua,  and  Bologna,  have 
all  of  them  had  their  own  special  rulers,  members  of 
certain  families  who  have  obtained  chief  power,  and  have 
ruled  with  a  greater  or  less  control  for  generations.  In  the 
case  of  Ferrara,  they  were  from  one  family,  that  of  Este, 
and  their  rule  was  for  several  generations.     In  the  case  of 

i6 


THE    CITIES   OF   NORTHERN   ITALY  17 

Verona,  the  power  began  with  a  grant  of  chief  magistracy 
by  the  people  to  one  man  whose  son  was  afterwards  elected 
to  a  higher  seat,  and  was  hailed  as  the  founder  of  a  family 
who  were  to  reign  hereditarily.  This  power  was  afterwards 
held  from  the  Emperor,  and  the  ruler  reigned  as  the 
Imperial  Vicar. 

In  the  case  of  Milan,  there  was  a  succession  of  great 
families,  who  in  turn  obtained,  by  force  of  arms,  wealth,  and 
character,  supreme  power,  and  ruled  the  city  at  times  with 
the  good-will  of  the  people  and  at  times  by  mere  military 
strength. 

In  the  case  of  Padua,  we  read  of  one  family  reigning  over 
the  city  ;  a  constant  state  of  warfare  against  a  powerful 
neighbour,  and  eventually  the  death  of  the  last  Carrara  ruler, 
and  the  absorption  of  Padua  into  the  Republic  of  Venice, 
which  ruled  it  with  a  species  of  Home-rule  for  the  rest 
of  its  corporate  existence. 

So  the  cities  differed  one  from  the  other. 

With  regard  to  art  and  monuments  the  case  is  the 
same. 

Certain  rulers  encouraged  art  and  learning,  and  beautified 
the  cities  which  they  controlled,  employing  the  chief  artists 
of  the  place,  and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  rich 
nobles,  and  by  the  Church,  which  was  always  ready  to 
use  the  talents  of  artists  to  beautify  buildings,  to  erect 
tombs,  and  to  prepare  all  the  wealth  of  accessories  that 
were  needed  in  the  service  of  the  Mass. 

An  example  of  this  wise  patronage  can  be  seen  in 
Bologna,  where  the  Bentivogli,  who  ruled  as  the  Vicars  of 
the  Holy  See,  spent  great  sums  and  much  time  in  making 
beautiful  the  city  that  they  loyed. 

A  certain  continuity  can  be  traced  when  these  cities  are 
considered  in  Roman  times,  and  also  in  Lombard  and 
Gothic  times,  and  the  monuments,  by  which  we  read  the 
history  of  the  past,  bear  resemblance  to  each  other,  and 


1 8  THE    CITIES   OF  NORTHERN    ITALY 

are  similar  in  type  ;  but  when  we  come  to  the  period  which 
we  term  that  of  the  Renaissance  a  new  spirit  is  manifest — 
that  of  competition  between  city  and  city  and  the  influences 
of  local  art,  local  patronage,  and  environment. 

It  is  therefore  the  more  needful  that  each  city  should 
be  studied  by  itself,  its  own  special  features  discovered,  its 
history  understood,  and  the  reasons  ascertained  for  the 
marks  that  are  left  of  its  life  and  its  art,  and  then  the  effect 
of  the  cities  on  each  other  will  be  better  appreciated  and 
the  reasons  for  the  strong  individuality  of  the  place  will  be 
grasped  and  its  position  in  history  clearly  defined. 

When  once  an  intelligible  idea  has  been  obtained  of  the 
history  of  an  Italian  city,  its  life  will  be  seen  reflected  in 
the  buildings  and  paintings  that  remain  within  its  walls. 
They  will  not  be  found  of  a  regal  character  as  in  France, 
or  of  a  commercial  type  as  in  the  cities  of  Flanders,  but 
they  will  suggest  either  the  free  and  independent  rights  of 
the  citizens— which  were  always  in  existence  although 
overshadowed  at  times  by  the  almost  monarchical  powers 
of  the  ruler — or  else  the  wealth,  luxury,  and  splendour  of 
the  great  and  noble  families  of  the  city,  or  the  devotion 
of  the  Church  and  her  people. 

The  Italian  cities  Avere  not  so  much  great  centres  of 
commercial  life  as  were  the  cities  of  Flanders,  and  they  did 
not  trade  extensively  with  the  world.  They  were  com- 
paratively self-sustaining,  and  each  of  them  was  noted  for 
the  pursuit  of  some  special  occupation  ;  as,  for  example, 
Brescia  was  noted  for  its  armourers  and  is  still  for  its 
coppersmiths,  Parma  dealt  in  cork  and  in  flax,  and  \^erona 
was  noted  for  its  marble. 

The  inhabitants  delighted,  however,  in  the  erection  of  fine 
buildings  and  in  their  decoration  both  outside  and  in  with 
paintings  in  fresco.  They  loved  to  found  chapels  in  their 
great  cathedrals  and  to  adorn  them  with  the  chief  works 
of  their  greatest  artists  ;  often  setting  two  rivals  at  work 


THE   CITIES   OF  NORTHERN   ITALY  19 

in  one  place  that  they  might  compete  one  against  the  other 
in  the  decoration  of  the  chapel.  Under  the  patronage  of 
wise  rulers,  important  libraries  were  founded  and  enriched  ; 
churches  were  built  ;  botanical  gardens  were  laid  out  and 
endowed  ;  and  all  the  craftsmen  which  that  wonderful  Re- 
naissance produced  were  employed  to  render  the  world 
beautiful  and  to  exhibit  the  finest  productions  of  their 
imaginations  wrought  out  in  materials  the  most  costly  with 
a  lavish  expenditure  of  time.  Such  will  be  found  to  be  the 
main  features  of  these  towns,  saving,  as  already  stated,  the 
city  of  Ravenna,  and  it  is  the  presence  of  these  number- 
less treasures  of  art  that  give  to  the  cities  their  never-ending 
attraction. 

Great  as  their  rulers  were  in  life,  they  were  sometimes 
even  greater  in  their  death,  and  we  find,  in  the  very  midst 
of  the  busy  streets,  tombs  and  monuments  the  grandest 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  or  can  ever  see,  forming  a 
further  source  of  adornment  and  attraction  to  the  cities 
in  which  they  stand. 

It  is  the  influence  of  the  rulers,  of  the  wealthy,  of  the 
artists,  and  of  the  craftsmen  rather  than  of  the  inhabitants 
as  a  whole  or  as  the  dwellers  in  one  city  that  we  notice  in 
our  wanderings,  and  a  little  care  will  enable  the  visitor  to 
each  city  to  reconstruct  for  himself  its  past  life  by  gazing 
with  an  intelligent  interest  on  the  monuments  and  works 
of  art  of  the  place. 

With  regard  to  Ravenna  it  so  completely  stands  alone  in 
its  history,  it  is  so  completely  an  isolated  oasis  left  stranded 
by  the  flood  that  has  receded  from  its  shores,  and  it  so 
exclusively  records  one  period  only  of  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  that  one  which  has  no  other  record  save  this 
city,  that  it  refuses  to  be  grouped  with  any  other  places 
and  must  be  considered  quite  by  itself.  Practically  Ravenna 
does  not  give  us  any  light  on  the  moving  period  of  the  Renais- 
sance.    It  does  not  record  any  long  line  of  rulers,  members 


20         THE    CITIES   OF   NORTHERN   ITALY 

of  a  great  family,  or  persons  who  have  won  their  way  by 
weaUh  or  prowess.  It  has  had  its  life  in  the  times  of  the 
Second  Empire,  it  lived  its  whirl  of  excitement  when  Arian 
controversy  filled  the  air,  it  welcomed  Theodoric,  and  three 
Roman  emperors  laid  their  bones  in  its  churches.  It  had 
a  passing  glance  at  the  movement  that  swept  over  Italy, 
for  it  was  visited  by  Giotto,  who  worked  in  its  churches, 
and  it  opened  its  arms  to  receive  Dante,  who  slept  his  last 
sleep  within  its  shelter ;  but  then  it  turned  to  its  old 
slumber  again,  and  is  still  slumbering  crystallised  in  the 
perfection  of  its  old  Gothic  days,  and  seeming  to  have 
made  no  change  since  Justinian  and  Theodora  rode  down 
its  streets.  The  sea,  which  used  to  make  it  an  important 
port,  has  long  since  fled  away  ;  where  a  fleet  rode  at  anchor 
is  now  only  a  great  solitary  church  and  an  open  malarious 
plain  ;  its  churches  are  deserted  and  green  with  moisture, 
while  their  grand  mosaics  flame  overhead  as  bright  as 
when  they  were  first  created  ;  but  the  place  itself  is  sleeping, 
and  its  people  move  about  as  if  in  slumber  fearing  to  awake, 
only  conscious  of  the  days  of  glory  in  the  past,  and  asking 
nothing  more  than  to  be  allowed  to  dream  away  the  days 
of  the  present. 

Ravenna  is  unique  ;  it  cannot  be  classed  or  grouped.  Its 
spirit  is  Byzantine  ;  it  has  had  no  Renaissance.  There  is 
nothing  like  it  in  the  world,  and  within  its  walls  only  can 
one  special  chapter  of  the  world's  history  be  adequately 
studied. 

G.  C.  \\\ 


ORDER   OF   THE   TOUR 


I    WOULD  like  to  counsel  you  to  begin  your  tour  with 
Ravenna,  but  I  am  perfectly  certain  that  you  would  not 
follow  my  advice  if  I  did  by  reason  of  the  geographical 
arrangement  of  the  various  cities  in  the  tour. 

You  will  no  doubt  enter  Italy  by  the  Mont  Cenis  route 
and  branch  off  at  Turin  to  Milan,  or  else  you  will  go  out  by 
the  more  beautiful  St.  Gothard  route,  and  go  direct  to  Milan. 
If  you  adopt  the  latter  method,  let  me  say  that  it  is  worth 
while,  if  you  travel  out  second  class,  as  I  expect  you  will,  to 
go  straight  from  Lucerne  by  the  through  train  to  Milan,  and 
pay  the  difference  (about  half-a- sovereign)  from  Lucerne,  for 
first  over  second  class,  rather  than  miss  that  train,  which 
has  only  first  class,  and  stop  in  Lucerne  some  hours, 
and  go  by  a  slow  one,  constantly  stopping,  and  arrive  in 
Milan  very  late,  and  quite  tired  out.  By  the  first-class  train 
you  will  gain  comfort  and  speed,  and  arrive  in  Milan  at 
three  in  the  afternoon,  and  you  will  save  the  money  you 
would  otherwise  spend  in  Lucerne  at  an  hotel.  If  you  start 
from  Milan  your  course  is  easy  as  to  the  other  towns.  You 
will  visit  Verona  after  you  leave  Milan,  then  you  will  go  to 
Padua,  seeing  Vicenza  on  the  way  if  you  wish,  as  you  can 
see  the  chief  sights  of  that  small  place  between  two  trains. 
From  Padua  you  will  perhaps  go  to  Ferrara,  and  thence  to 
Bologna.  From  Bologna,  you  will  journey  to  Ravenna,  the 
most  important  place  in  the  whole  series  from  some  points 


22  ORDER   OF   THE   TOUR 

of  view,  and  you  will  return  to  Bologna.  You  can  if  you  wish 
go  on  from  Bologna  to  Rimini,  and  thence  make  a  most 
interesting  excursion  to  the  little  Republic  of  San  Marino, 
and  then  journey  back  to  Bologna  by  another  route,  stopping 
at  Cesena,  between  two  trains,  to  see  the  chained  Malatesta 
library,  which  is  unique  in  Italy,  never  having  been  altered 
or  moved,  or  in  any  way  changed,  since  it  was  founded  in 
1550  and  the  fine  picture  by  Francia  in  the  gallery  ; 
stopping  at  Forii,  a  most  interesting  town,  seeing  also 
Faenza  the  next  day,  between  two  trains,  and  then  getting 
back  into  Bologna.  Your  return  route  can  then  be  made  by 
way  of  Parma  to  Milan,  and  you  can  if  you  desire,  see 
Piacenza,  Cremona,  or  Mantua,  and  so  back  to  Milan  ;  or 
you  can  go  out  to  Parma  from  Bologna,  and  return  to 
Bologna  the  next  day  (or  even  that  same  day  if  you  are 
very  much  pressed  for  time,  as  Parma  is  too  important  to  be 
missed),  and  go  on  to  Florence  by  Bologna,  climbing  over 
the  mountains  by  Pracchia  and  coming  down  to  Pistoja, 
Prato,  and  lovely  Florence.  If  you  are  too  much  pressed  to 
see  these  places,  which  we  hope  to  fully  describe  in  another 
volume,  then  you  must  miss  them  out,  but  do  not  omit  to 
see  Ferrara  even  if  it  is  only  between  two  trains  on  your 
way  to  Bologna,  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  towns 
in  the  entire  route  and  ought  to  be  visited  if  you  are  to 
obtain  any  adequate  idea  of  the  power  of  a  ruling  family  in 
a  city.  Give  a  week  to  Ravenna  if  you  can.  Do  not  be  there 
in  the  great  heal,  or  in  the  winter,  but  in  the  spring  and 
early  autumn  you  will  find  it  quite  healthy.  Do  not,  however, 
be  out  in  Ravenna  after  sunset  if  you  are  at  all  delicate, 
and  carry  with  you  a  coat,  even  in  sunshine,  or  a  cloak  or  rug 
to  throw  around  you  when  you  enter  the  cold,  damp,  deserted 
churches  of  that  fascinating  city.  Its  history  is  at  the  very 
beginning  of  our  studies,  and  if  you  can  spare  the  time  to  go 


ORDER   OF   THE    TOUR  23 

to  it  first,  either  by  water  from  Venice,  or  by  rail  from  Rome 
or  Florence,  you  will  certainly  gain  in  knowledge,  and  start 
your  studies  in  a  more  interesting  and  instructive  manner. 
As  a  rule  too  much  time  is  given  to  Milan,  and  the  smaller 
towns  are  left  out  altogether.  I  do  not  want  to  minimise 
the  importance  of  Milan,  but  I  do  want  more  time  to  be 
given  to  such  places  as  Verona,  Padua,  and  Ravenna.  The 
finest  brick  architecture  of  Italy  is  to  be  seen  in  Verona  ;  the 
work  of  Giotto  can  only  be  understood  after  a  visit  to 
Padua  ;  Francia  can  only  be  studied  in  Bologna  ;  the  art  of 
mosaic  has  its  finest  examples  at  Ravenna,  and  so  each 
town  has  its  own  supreme  attractions.  Every  town  in  Italy 
is  vi^orth  visiting  and  study,  and  if  this  book  enkindles  in 
the  reader  the  love  of  Italy,  and  the  desire  to  go  constantly 
to  its  wonderful  towns,  all  the  work  given  to  it  by  me  will 
have  been  more  than  amply  repaid. 

G.  C.  W. 


HOW  TO   USE   THESE   GUIDE-BOOKS 


"T^  HE  portions  of  this  book  intended  to  be  read  at  leisure 
■^  at  home,  before  proceeding  to  explore  each  towii  or 
monumoit,  are  enclosed  in  brackets  \t/ms'\.  The  portio?i 
relating  to  each  principal  object  should  be  quietly  read 
and  digested  before  «  visit,  and  7-eferrcd  to  agaifi  after- 
wards. The  portion  to  be  read  on  the  spot  is  made  as  brief 
as  possible,  and  is  printed  in  large  legible  type,  so  as  to 
be  easily  read  in  the  dim  light  of  churches,  chapels,  and 
galleries.  The  key-note  words  are  printed  in  bold  type, 
to  catch  the  eye.  Where  objects  are  numbered,  the  numbers 
used  are  always  those  of  the  latest  official  catalogues. 

Baedeket's  Guides  are  so  printed  that  each  principal  por- 
tion can  be  detached  entire  from  the  vohinie.  The  traveller 
who  uses  Baedeker  is  advised  to  carry  in  his  pocket  one 
such  portion,  referring  to  the  place  he  is  then  visiting,  to- 
gether with  the  plan  of  the  totvn,  while  carrying  tins  book 
in  his  hand.  These  Guides  do  not  profess  to  supply  prac- 
tical information. 

hidividual  works  of  merit  are  distinguished  by  an  aster- 
isk (*)y  those  of  very  exceptiofial  interest  and  merit  have 
two  asterisks.  Nothing  is  noticed  in  this  book  which  does 
not  seem  to  the  ivriter  worthy  of  attention. 

See  little  at  a  time,  and  see  it  thoroughly.  Never  attempt 
to  ^^do"  any  place  or  any  monument.  By  folloiving  strictly 
the  order  in  which  objects  are  noticed  in  this  book,  you  will 
gain  a  conception  of  the  historical  evolution  of  the  town 
which  you  cannot  obtain  if  you  go  about  looking  at  churches 
and  palaces  hap-hazard.  The  order  is  arratiged,  tiot  quite 
chronologically,  but  on  a  definite  plan,  which  greatly  facili- 
tates comprehension  of  the  subject. 


CONTENTS 


Original  Introduction  (with  Publisher's  Note) 

Author's  Preface 

The  Cities  ok  Northern  Italy 

Order  of  the  Tour 

How  to  Use  these  Guide-Books    . 


PAGE 

5 

ID 

i6 

21 

24 


I.  Milan — 

A.  General  Information    . 

B.  Roman  and  Early  Milan 

C.  The  Sforza  and  Visconti  Influence 

D.  Milanese  Art       .... 
£.  Excursions  from  Milan 


27 
29 
52 

71 
118 


II.  Verona— 

A.  Introductory 

B.  Roman  Verona    . 

C.  Verona  under  the  Scaligeri 

D.  The  Churches  of  Verona 
li.  The  Art  of  Verona      . 
F.    Other  Churches,  the  Piazza,  and  a  Garden 


125 
126 

130 

134 
146 

153 


III.  Padua— 

A.  Introductory l6l 

£.  Giotto  in  Padua 162 

C.  After  Giotto,  and  the  Work  of  Donalello  .  174 

D.  Other  Sights  and  the  Picture  Gallery  .         .         .185 


26  CONTENTS 

IV.  Bologna— 

A.  General  InfonnaLion  as  to  the  City 

B.  Etruscan  and  Roman  Times 

C.  Bologna  in  its  Days  of  Independence  . 

D.  Bologna  under  the  Bentivoglio  and  the  Holy  See 

E.  The  Art  of  Bologna 

F.  Excursions  from  Bologna     . 


I'AGE 

192 

193 
198 
210 

215 
2^2 


V.   Ravenna — 

A.  Introductory 234 

B.  The  Churches  and  Mosaics  of  Ravenna        .         .  238 

C.  The  Time  of  Theodoric 249 

D.  Justinian  and  Theodora  in  Ravenna    .  257 

E.  Fresco-Work .264 

F.  The  Museums  and  Picture  Gallery       .         .         .  267 

Index 270 


THE    CITIES    OF 
NORTHERN    ITALY 

MILAN 

A.   GENERAL   INFORMATION 

MILAN  is  the  most  essentially  modern  of  the  cities 
that  we  shall  visit,  but  it  has  had  a  very  long 
and  important  history. 

It  had  a  very  early  beginning,  has  been  exposed  to  much 
warfare,  has  been  destroyed  almost  completely,  more  than 
once,  but  has  risen  up  to  even  greater  prosperity.  It  has 
been  independent,  and  then  has  been  ruled  by  successive 
rulers  of  one  great  family.  It  has  later  on  thrown  off  the 
yoke  of  this  rule  to  take  upon  itself  the  heavier  burden  of  a 
yet  more  powerful  family,  and  it  has  been  ruled  and  governed 
for  generations  by  men  who  were  practically  monarchs  over 
the  city  and  its  province. 

It  has  had  its  own  important  school  of  art,  which  has  in- 
fluenced almost  every  other  school.  It  has  produced  great 
architects,  whose  buildings  are  still  the  admiration  and 
envy  of  the  whole  world.  It  possesses  at  this  moment  one 
of  the  great  picture  galleries  of  Europe  and  what  is  perhaps 
one  of  the  very  choicest  of  small  galleries  ever  bequeathed 
to  a  town  by  its  possessor.  It  has  a  world-famed  library 
that  has  had  an  eventful  history,  a  superb  Cathedral  that  is 
one  of  the  marvels  of  Europe,  and  a  Castello  that  better  than 


28  MILAN 

any  other  spot  in  Italy  teaches  what  the  home  life  of  the 
Renaissance  rulers  was  like. 

It  has  preserved  remains  of  its  past  life  in  every  period,  so 
that  the  student  can  trace  by  its  monuments  its  history 
from  Roman  down  to  modern  times,  and  it  contains  one 
treasure  in  its  Palliotto  that  is  absolutely  unique  in  value, 
and  as  a  dated  example  of  the  art  of  a  thousand  years  ago 
forms  a  document  of  priceless  importance. 

Milan  is  crowded  with  treasures.  To  know  it  you  must 
live  in  it  or  return  over  and  over  again  to  its  streets.  One 
visit,  even  if  spread  over  weeks,  will  not  suffice  to  see  all  that 
it  has  to  show  to  those  who  love  to  see  its  treasures,  and 
although  it  is  so  modern  in  its  present  surroundings,  so 
thoroughly  alive,  so  prosperous,  and  so  discontented,  it  will 
be  found  to  have  as  great  an  historical  and  antiquarian 
attraction  as  any  of  its  smaller  neighbours  that  seem  to  live 
only  in  the  past  or  to  slumber  in  a  long  sleep. 

It  is  well  to  select  your  hotel  in  the  very  centre  of  the  city, 
especially  in  the  Corso  Vittorio  Emanuele,  so  as  to  be  within 
easy  reach  of  the  sights.  It  is  desirable  not  to  attempt  to 
do  too  much  in  one  day,  as  Milan  is  a  tiring  city  and  there 
is  so  much  to  do  that  it  is  well  to  husband  one's  strength. 
It  is  not  needful  to  drive  to  any  of  the  sights,  as  the  trams 
run  in  all  directions  and  are  convenient  and  easy.  It  is 
desirable  to  guard  against  cold,  as  Milan  is  at  times  intensely 
cold  and  has  a  very  treacherous  wind  of  its  own  that  is 
dangerous  ;  but  beyond  cold  the  city  is  very  healthy,  and 
generally  in  the  spring  and  autumn  delightful. 

The  word  Huniilitas,  which  was  the  favourite  motto  of  its 
great  saint  San  Carlo  Borromeo,  the  eagle  of  the  Sforzas,  and 
the  serpent  of  the  Visconti  can  be  seen  in  all  directions  in 
the  city  and  recall  the  influence  of  their  original  holders 
upon  Milanese  history.  Milanese  art  is  so  special  and  so 
important  that  it  has  been  given  a  separate  and  somewhat 
long  chapter,  and  the  study  of  the  galleries  has  been  placed 
in  that  section  of  the  book. 

The  work  of  one  of  the  greatest  artists  of  Milan,  Luini,  can 
be  best  studied  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  and 


ROMAN   AND   EARLY   MILAN  29 

therefore  he  has  been  given  space  when  consideration  of 
that  church  is  undertaken,  more  especially  as  he  particularly 
represents  Milanese  art. 

The  Palliotto  at  Sant'  Ambrogio  is  the  chief  treasure  of 
the  city,  and  yet  few  persons  take  the  trouble  to  see  it. 
Whatever  else  is  omitted  that  must  not  be  left  out,  and  al- 
together more  time  is  required  for  the  study  of  the  Church  of 
Sant'  Ambrogio  than  for  any  other  building  in  the  place. 


B.  ROMAN  AND  EARLY  MILAN 

I  suppose  that  when  you  first  enter  Milan  you  will  do  it 
by  the  Central  Railway  Station,  and  that  when  you  have 
secured  a  facchino  to  carry  your  hand  luggage  and  obtain 
your  registered  trunks  from  the  officials,  you  will  find  your 
way  in  one  of  the  hotel  omnibuses  to  the  hotel  where  you 
intend  to  stay.  Perhaps  you  will  be  puzzled  by  not  being 
able  to  obtain  your  registered  baggage  at  once,  and  at  being 
requested  by  the  hotel  porter,  who  is  with  the  omnibus,  to 
give  him  your  luggage  ticket  and  also  your  keys.  If  you  are 
tired  from  your  journey,  you  had  better  do  so,  as  the  Customs 
authorities  in  Milan  are  very  slow  in  getting  the  baggage 
through,  and  the  inner  Custom-house  of  the  city,  called  the 
octroi,  has  also  a  right  of  search  for  forbidden  things  which 
is,  however,  hardly  ever  exercised.  You  need  not  be  afraid 
to  entrust  your  keys  to  the  porter  if  he  belongs  to  one  of 
the  big  hotels,  as  their  possession  is  practically  a  formality, 
and  they  are  never  used  but  to  satisfy  the  octroi  ;  he  produces 
them  and  declares  that  all  is  well.  I  take  it  then  that  you 
are  safely  landed  at  your  hotel,  have  had  a  good  wash  (very 
needful  after  a  long  journey  on  the  dirty  Italian  lines),  and 
that  you  are  quite  ready  for  dinner. 

Don't  go  out,  let  me  suggest  to  you,  unless  it  happens  to 
be  a  clear  moonlight  night,  but  just  rest  and  start  your 
experience  in  Milan  after  a  good  dinner  and  a  comfortable 
night,  so  that  you  may  bring  an  easy  mind  to  bear  upon 
what  you  have,  under  my  guidance,  to  see  in  the  city. 


30  MI  LA  N 

If  it  does  happen  to  be  a  clear  bright  night,  then  take 
a  short  stroll  to  see  the  Cathedral  after  dinner,  as  by  moon- 
light or  golden  evening  sunlight  it  is  more  lovely  than  under 
any  other  circumstances,  and  I  would  like  you  to  see  the 
building  at  its  most  beautiful  moment,  and  to  commence 
well  in  Milan. 

You  are  hardly  likely  to  see  the  Duomo  by  the  clear 
frosty  air  when  it  is  lightly  flecked  with  snow.  That  is 
its  loveliest  aspect,  but  in  the  golden  evening  glow  of 
autumn,  or  under  the  cold  silvery  whiteness  of  the  moon, 
it  is  wonderfully  fine,  and  if  you  have  the  chance  to  com- 
mence with  this  sight,  do  not  miss  it. 


The  next  morning  I  want  you  to  commence  seeing  Milan 
by  visiting  the  Church  of  San  Lorenzo,  and  to  do  this  you 
must  pass  the  Cathedral. 

I  am  not  going  to  be  so  foolish  as  to  tell  you  not  to  look 
up  at  it  as  you  pass,  but  don't  waste  time  now  in  seeing 
it,  but  just  go  on  with  me  to  the  church  I  have  named. 
One  thing  you  will  quickly  find  out  in  Milan.  The  Cathedral 
is  the  centre  of  it,  and  from  the  Cathedral  you  can  go  almost 
anywhere  by  electric  trams.  I  do  not  like  them,  for  they 
are  not  lovely  things,  and  by  night  they  remind  us  of  great 
moving  demons  merciless  to  run  you  down,  but  they  are 
very  convenient  and  a  great  help  to  the  tired  pedestrian. 
From  the  front  of  the  Duomo  take  a  tram  marked  "  Porta 
Ticino,"  and  stop  at  the  Church  of  San  Lorenzo. 

Here  right  in  the  middle  of  the  street  stand  sixteen  great 
giant  *  *  columns,  made  of  white  marble,  and  going  back 
to  perhaps  the  third  century.  They  form  one  of  the  most 
impressive  sights  to  be  seen  in  Milan,  and  I  want  you 
to  stand  still  and  think  for  a  moment  of  what  they  mean. 

Milan,  the  ancient  Mediolanum,  was  the  second  city  in 
importance  in  Roman  Italy,  second  only  to  Rome  and 
rich  in  all  the  dignity  and  beauty  of  a  great  imperial  city. 
It  had  been  founded  by  the  Gauls,  but  became  Roman 
in    222    B.C.,    and    in    the   fourth    and    fifth    century   had 


ROMAN   AND   EARLY   MILAN  31 

become  a  vast,  populous,  and  magnificent  city.  We  are 
going,  however,  to  find  very  little  of  this  magnificence  re- 
maining, as  we  wander  through  the  city,  and  the  reason 
must  be  told  here. 

The  city  has  been  besieged  over  and  over  again.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  attacked  fifty  times  ;  and  attracted  by 
its  position,  its  riches,  and  its  magnificence,  its  enemies 
have  been  numerous  and  powerful.  Attila,  king  of  the 
Huns,  sacked  it  in  452,  and  the  Goths  in  493.  It  was 
again  conquered  by  Rome,  but  again,  in  539,  retaken  by 
the  Goths,  and  at  that  time  almost  entirely  burnt  and 
destroyed.  Again  and  again  after  that  it  was  captured 
by  the  Lombards,  the  Franks,  and  the  Huns,  and  so  injured 
by  warfare  until  hardly  anything  remained  of  the  Roman 
city;  and  yet  it  rose  again,  until,  in  1162,  it  was  almost 
wholly  destroyed  by  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa. 

Then  for  some  five  years  there  was  once  more  no  Milan, 
only  a  few  churches  and  a  dismal  heap  of  ruins  deserted 
of  all  their  population,  and  the  power  and  pride  of  the 
great  city  seemed  crushed  for  ever. 

Five  years  afterwards,  however,  Milan  suddenly  rose  once 
more  into  existence,  cominencing  its  new  life  on  April  27, 
1 167;  and  at  once  attacking  its  old  enemy,  the  Emperor, 
it  demolished  his  castle  of  Trezzo,  which  contained  his 
treasure. 

The  recuperative  power  of  the  citizens  of  Milan  was  amply 
proved  ;  once  again  the  city  became  powerful  and  practically 
independent,  and  from  1237  commenced  the  rule  of  certain 
great  Milanese  families,  who  by  their  own  prowess  and 
determination,  their  wisdom  and  their  wealth,  became  by 
the  will  of  the  people  the  rulers  over  the  city. 

To  them  I  will  refer  later  on,  but  these  few  lines  will 
suffice  to  chronicle  the  troubles  of  early  Milan  and  its 
sufferings  at  the  hands  of  its  enemies. 

You  will  now,  I  think,  realise  why  it  is  that  of  this  splendid 
Roman  city  so  little  remains,  practically  only  this  portico  of 
columns,  and  also  why  it  is  that  in  our  journey  round  Milan 
we  have  to  bear  in  mind  its  constant  warfare,  its  continual 


32  MILAN 

sieges,  and  the  changes  that  happened  in  the  city  under  its 
different  governments. 

We  are  now  concerned  with  its  eariiest  stage,  its  history 
in  Roman  times.  It  is  not  known  for  certain  to  what 
building  these  columns  were  attached.  They  are  said  to  be 
part  of  some  magnificent  baths,  and  the  church  near  at 
hand  to  have  formed  an  entrance  hall  to  the  same  thermce. 
They  are  by  some  antiquaries  said  to  belong  to  an  Imperial 
Palace,  but  to  what  building  actually  they  were  attached 
does  not  very  much  matter.  There  they  stand,  impressive 
in  their  solemn  grandeur.  The  flood  of  warfare  has  rolled 
around  them,  carnage,  the  sword,  fire,  and  pestilence  have 
worked  their  wicked  will  on  all  the  city,  but  the  gigantic 
columns,  built  by  that  wonderful  nation  that  ruled  the  world 
and  proudly  boasted  of  its  perpetual  life,  stand  as  if  to  en- 
force the  truth  of  the  boast  and  to  bid  defiance  to  all  time. 
Even  the  brick-work,  so  cunningly  built  of  fine  small  red  bricks 
so  carefully  fitted  and  laid,  has  remained,  and  it  crowns  these 
marble  columns  and  forms  two  delightful  archways,  one  at  each 
end  of  the  colonnade,  but  the  grim  old  iron-bound  columns 
bravely  rear  their  heads  in  the  midst  of  all  the  bustle  and 
life  of  the  street,  and  speak  of  the  wonders  they  have  seen 
while  generations  have  passed  away.  They  are  a  great  proof 
of  the  genius  of  Rome.  Her  work  was  built  to  endure.  It 
faced  the  world  proudly  and  it  still  faces  it,  but  even  in  Rome 
itself  you  will  hardly  find  a  more  emphatic  contrast  between 
the  dignity  of  the  old  nation  and  the  trivial  passing  life  of 
the  present  century  than  you  will  see  in  these  proud  old 
columns  in  the  Corso  Ticinese. 

Now  enter  the  church  and  ask  for  the  Chapel  of  St. 
Aquilinus,  which  for  a  few  pence  will  be  unlocked  for  you, 
and  there  on  the  right  as  you  enter  is  a  large  stone  tomb 
which  will  at  once  attract  your  attention. 

It  is  the  *Tomb  of  Ataulphus,  king  of  the  Goths, 
brother-in-law  and  successor  to  Alaric. 

He  married  the  daughter  of  Theodosius  the  Great,  in 
whose  face  St.  Ambrose  shut  the  famous  gates,  and  the  tomb 


ROMAN   AND   EARLY   MILAN  33 

of  his  wife  Galla  Placidia  you  will  see  when  you  come  to 
Ravenna.  This  is  probably  the  first  of  those  great  Byzantine 
stone  tombs,  of  which  there  are  so  many  at  Ravenna,  that 
you  have  come  across  in  your  travels  :  so  mark  it  well. 

It  is  sufficiently  Roman  to  be  huge,  important,  and 
massive,  but  it  is  Gothic  in  its  great  corner  cusps,  and  in 
its  decoration  it  is  Christian.  You  will  note  on  it  the 
symbol  of  the  Cross,  upon  which  a  dove  is  descending,  and 
two  lambs  stand  below,  and  then  in  the  centre  you  will  mark 
the  twisted  columns  and  the  charming  Runic  decorations  in 
between.  You  will  see  that  the  shape  of  the  lid  of  the  tomb 
is  that  of  the  cornice  decoration  over  the  columns  carved 
upon  it,  and  that  although  there  is  no  display  of  decoration 
on  the  tomb,  yet  all  the  work  is  well  done  and  the  effect  is 
that  of  greatness  and  power. 

In  St.  Ambrose  we  shall  see  another  tomb  resembling  this 
one,  and  there  are  many  at  Ravenna,  but  here  it  stands  to 
symbolise  the  conquest  of  Paganism  by  Christianity,  and 
the  early  days  of  the  Christian  faith. 

Now  look  up  and  you  will  see  more  early  Christian  work. 
On  the  R.  of  the  altar  is  a  *  mosaic  representing  Our  Lord 
and  His  Apostles,  and  below  His  feet  is  to  be  seen  a  river  of 
clear  water  admirably  represented. 

On  the  L.  is  a  much  richer  coloured  mosaic  of  the  Sacri- 
fice of  Isaac  mystically  representing  the  Crucifixion,  and  the 
Shepherds  and  their  Flocks  mystically  representing  the 
Church,  and  both  these  mosaics  are  about  fifth  or  early  si.xth 
century  work.  We  are  probably  standing  within  one  of  the 
inner  rooms  of  the  Roman  t/termcs,  and  we  can  see  that  it 
has  been  taken  hold  of  and  converted  into  a  Christian 
temple  decorated  by  Christian  hands  with  religious  symbols, 
and  so  here  we  see  again  Paganism  giving  place  to  the  new 
faith. 

Return  and  enter  the  church,  as  there  is  nothing  else  in 
this  chapel  of  importance  ;  and  let  me  here  remind  you  that 
my  purpose  in  this  guide  is  not  to  show  you  everything  a 
building  contains,  such  as  you  will  be  told  in    Murray  or 

C 


34  MILAN 

Baedeker,  but  to  point  out  what  seem  to  me  to  be  the 
important  things  for  you  to  look  at  in  order  that  you  may 
understand  somewhat  of  the  growth  of  the  city. 

The  church  will  remind  you  of  the  Pantheon  at  Rome, 
and  it  will  certainly  recall  the  idea  of  a  Roman  temple. 
Probably  on  this  site,  and  in  something  this  style,  there 
was  once  a  Roman  building,  and  most  likely  the  colon- 
nade facing  you  belonged  to  it  ;  but  the  present  church 
was  built  in  the  sixteenth  century  upon  the  lines  of  a  far 
older  building,  and  very  much  like  San  Vitale  at  Ravenna, 
and  probably  this  earlier  building  was  a  Roman  one  con- 
verted to  Christian  uses,  as  was  the  Pantheon. 

Some  remains  of  the  Gothic  alteration  of  the  church  can 
yet  be  seen  in  the  Runic  stones  upon  some  of  the  columns 
near  the  chapel  that  contains  the  tomb. 

Now  dismiss  the  historical  evolution  for  a  few  moments 
from  your  mind,  and  examine  a  few  treasures  in  the  church, 
bearing  in  mind  that,  although  we  may  gradually  work  our 
way  through  history,  by  examining  building  after  building, 
it  will  not  be  wise  to  neglect  the  treasures  each  building 
contains,  even  though  they  may  not  concern  our  immediate 
purpose,  and  it  would  waste  our  time  to  return  again  to  this 
church  after  seeing  others. 

Close  to  the  door  of  the  St.  Aquillinus  Chapel  is  a  fine 
slab fi'oni  a  tomb.  It  is  quite  out  of  place  where  it  is.  It 
ought  to  be  on  the  floor,  only  if  put  there  it  would  soon  be 
injured,  but  here  on  this  wall  it  presents  an  unfortunate 
appearance.  It  marks  the  tomb  of  Antonio  del  Conte,  and 
the  dear  old  man  should  be  comfortably  lying  flat  on  the 
ground,  his  head  upon  his  pillow,  instead  of  being  placed 
upright  on  a  wall. 

The  slab  is  a  good  one,  of  1347,  and  marks  an  early  low- 
relief  sculpture,  in  which  can  be  found  earnest  searchings 
after  truth,  and  a  brave  attempt  to  represent  the  human 
figure  as  it  is.  Donatello's  work  is  but  the  development 
of  this. 

You  will  find  a  florid  and  over-rich  pietra-dura  pulpit  in  the 
church,  and  behind  the  high  altar  you  will  see  a  charming 


ROMAN   AND   EARLY  MILAN  35 

monument  in  a  little  chapel,  which  Gaspare  Visconti,  out  of 
love  and  affection,  erected  to  the  memory  of  one  Giovanni 
Conti  in  1538. 

Here  you  have  an  impressive  nioniiDient  of  a  warrior 
reclining,  holding  his  sword  and  resting  his  head  upon 
his  hand.  It  is  a  beautiful  piece  of  Renaissance  work. 
Another  good  tomb  you  will  pass  as  you  leave  the  chapel ; 
it  is  a  plain  one  of  red  and  yellow  marble,  but  for  whom 
it  was  erected  is  not  now  known. 

On  the  wall  near  the  pulpit,  stop  and  look  at  the  fresco, 
recently  uncovered,  as  it  represents  the  evident  attempt  of 
some  scholar  of  Leonardo's  to  copy  his  master's  famous  work, 
and  for  that  reason  is  important  in  the  history  of  art,  and 
shows  us  what  enthusiasm  was  kindled  by  that  great  Cena- 
colo.  There  is  nothing  more  for  you  to  look  at  in  San 
Lorenzo,  but,  as  you  leave  the  church,  you  will  surely  gaze 
yet  again  at  the  great  stone  columns,  that  so  splendidly 
represent  Imperial  Rome  in  her  splendour. 


It  will  be  well  now  to  walk  on  a  little  farther  down  the 
street  to  the  rebuilt  Porta  Ticinese,  because  near  to  it  you 
will  see  the  little  canal  that  runs  nearly  round  the  very 
centre  of  Milan.  It  is  the  mark  of  the  size  of  Milan  in  1 167, 
when,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  it  started  afresh  from  the 
ashes  of  the  burnt  cit}^  and  on  the  banks  of  this  canal  were 
the  mediaeval  fortifications.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the 
Visconti  rulers  built  a  great  deal  outside  of  these  fortifications, 
enlarging  their  city  enormously,  and  to  the  district  just  on 
the  other  side  of  this  canal  they  gave  the  name  of  Cittadella, 
and  the  district  still  is  called  by  that  designation.  The 
central  arch  only  of  the  gate  under  which  we  stand  is  old, 
the  rest  was  rebuilt  on  the  old  lines  in  1861.  Pass  through 
the  gate  and  look  up  at  the  other  side  of  the  gateway,  and 
you  will  yet  see  the  mediaeval  relief  of  the  Madonna  and 
Saints,  which  was  to  be  the  first  sight  of  the  traveller 
entering  the  city. 


36  MILAN 

You  are  not  far  off  from  the  Church  of  San  Eustorgio,  and 
perhaps  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  walk  on  down  the  street 
to  visit  this  church,  even  though  it  comes  a  little  out  of 
place  in  strict  chronological  order. 

It  is  on  the  same  side  of  the  street  as  was  San  Lorenzo, 
and  you  will  reach  it  in  a  few  minutes. 

I  have  already  pointed  out  to  you  the  canal,  and  therefore, 
you  will  realise  what  is  meant  when  I  say  that  this  church 
was  without  the  walls  of  early  Milan. 

Its  position  saved  it,  as  it  was  one  of  the  very  few  buildings 
that  escaped  Frederick  Barbarossa. 

For  many  hundreds  of  years  it  held  the  chief  treasures  of 
Milan,  the  bones  of  the  Three  Kings,  which  were  presented 
to  Archbishop  Eustorgius,  who  lived  in  A.D.  300,  by  the 
Emperor  Constantine. 

Eustorgius  had  made  for  them  a  huge  *  stone  sarco- 
phaglTS,  and  this  you  will  see  if  you  walk  right  up  the 
church  on  the  right  to  the  chapel,  parallel  with  the  high 
altar. 

It  is  a  coffer,  like  the  tomb  you  have  just  seen,  but  far 
larger,  and  has  upon  it,  in  deeply  cut,  plain  letters,  the  words 
."  Sepulcrum  Trium  Magorum,"  and  is  quite  plain,  and 
without  any  decoration  whatever. 

When  the  Emperor  came  up  against  Milan,  the  relics 
were  removed  to  a  place  of  greater  safety  within  the  city, 
but  when  Milan  fell  they  were  the  spoil  of  the  Emperor,  and 
he  gave  them  over  to  Archbishop  Rinaldus  of  Cologne,  who 
carried  them  off  to  his  city,  where  they  are  at  the  present 
time. 

The  scene  of  the  Adoration  of  the  Kings  has  always 
been  a  favourite  one  with  Lombard  artists,  and  they  have 
been  proud  that  relics  of  such  importance  rested  in  their 
city  for  800  years. 

The  extreme  antiquity  of  the  church  in  which  we  now 
stand  is  not  only  testified  by  this  great  stone  coffer, 
which  goes  back  to,  say,  315,  but  also  by  the  big  round 
columns  that  support  the  roof,  and  which  have  remained 
although  the  church  was  rebuilt  in  1227,  and  restored  most 


ROMAN  AND   EARLY   MILAN  37 

grievously  in  1865.  It  is,  however,  in  monuments  of  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  that  this  church  is  so  rich, 
and  I  would  recommend  you  to  go  straight  away  behind 
the  high  altar,  underneath  the  elevated  choir,  through  two 
pairs  of  iron  gates,  which  the  "  custode  "  will  readily  unlock, 
to  see  the  chief  treasure  of  tlie  diurch. 

Even  though  our  talk  has  hitherto  been  on  ancient 
Roman  work,  I  want  you  to  begin  to  realise  the  moving 
spirit  of  the  Renaissance,  which  had  such  vast  influence  in 
Milan,  and  which  may  be  summed  up  in  the  idea  to  make 
everything  in  life  beautiful.  You  should  also  understand 
that,  under  the  rule  of  the  Visconti  and  of  the  Sforza,  art 
in  Milan  was  at  its  highest  level.  The  rulers  of  each  of 
these  great  families  loved  to  gather  around  them  the  most 
eminent  craftsmen,  to  set  them  to  work  to  paint  or  carve, 
to  build  or  decorate,  and  lavished  of  their  finest  work 
upon  palace,  church,  and  castle.  The  example  the  rulers 
set  was  followed  by  those  under  them.  Every  one  strove 
to  encourage  art,  to  make  life  lovely  and  to  urge  artists 
and  craftsmen  to  produce  work  finer  than  the  world  had 
yet  seen. 

Now  here  in  this  **Portinari  Chapel  we  have  a  building, 
perfect  in  design  and  in  proportion,  erected  at  almost  lavish 
cost  for  a  noble  Florentine,  who  was  treasurer  for  the  ruler 
Ludovico  Moro,  and  who  was  a  member  of  that  important 
Portinari  family  who  loved,  as  we  have  seen  at  Florence 
(see  Hospital  of  St.  Maria  Nuova,  p.  255),  to  patronise  art. 

Michelozzo  was  the  mxhitect,  and  he  has  carried  out  a 
delightful  idea.  The  chapel  is  small  but  exquisite,  the 
proportions  of  it  are  true,  the  carving  on  the  pilasters  and 
columns  rich  and  deep,  and  above  all  the  frieze  of  singing 
angels  and  the  lower  border  (equally  fine)  of  cherubs'  heads, 
which  stand  out  in  low  relief  high  up  above  your  heads 
and  all  around  the  wall,  are  delightful. 

Finer  still,  however,  is  the  gem  which  this  casket  was  built 
to  contain.     Pigello  dei  Portinari,  whose  portrait  hangs  on 


38  MILAN 

the  R.  wall  of  his  chapel,  desired  not  only  to  found  a  family 
chapel,  where  perpetual  thought  of  him  might  be  preserved, 
not  alone  to  commission  Michelozzo  to  build  a  perfect 
building,  but  also,  and  perhaps  above  all,  to  make  a  fitting 
resting-place  for  the  Tomb  of  St.  Peter  Martyr,  which 
had  been  carved  by  Balduccio  of  Pisa  a  hundred  and 
thirty  years  before,  and  which  originally,  it  is  said,  stood 
in  the  church. 

Do  not  hurry  over  this  monument  ;  walk  carefully  around 
it,  study  its  details,  and  then  you  will  understand  how  great 
were  the  masters  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

Balduccio's  work  is  rare,  and  judging  from  the  merit  of 
this  magnificent  tomb,  he  could  not  have  executed  many 
works  of  like  importance. 

Notice  particularly  the  eight  female  figures,  which,  ac- 
cording to  quaint  Lombard  mysticism,  portray  the  four 
Cardinal  and  the  four  Theological  virtues.  Their  names 
are  above  their  heads  on  the  columns  near  to  which  they 
stand.  Look  at  Charity  hugging  the  two  poor  children  to 
her  breast ;  Faith  with  the  Chalice  and  Cross ;  Hope 
looking  upward  and  holding  a  cornucopia  of  fresh  young 
flowers  ;  and  Obedience  bearing  the  yoke  and  holding  the 
book  of  the  Gospels. 

Come  then  round  to  the  front  and  see  Justice  crowned 
bearing  the  balance,  part  of  which,  like  part  of  Faith's  cross, 
has  been  broken  away  ;  then  comes  Temperance,  pouring 
water  from  an  urn  ;  Fortitude,  bearing  what  at  first  you 
may  take  to  be  a  basket,  but  which  on  closer  investigation 
you  will  find  to  be  a  city  built  upon  a  rock  in  the  centre 
of  a  rolling  sea,  and  upon  which  the  four  winds  of  heaven 
are  blowing  their  fiercest  ;  and  finally.  Prudence,  with  a 
triple  face,  looking  at  the  present,  the  past,  and  the 
future. 

Then  look  at  all  the  representations  of  the  miracles  of 
the  saint  carved  around  the  coffin,  and  notice  the  figures 
of  the  Doctors  of  the  Church,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Ambrose,  St. 
Augustine,  and  St.  Gregory,  with  St.  Thomas  and  St. 
Eustorgius  who  stand  by  ;  and  finally  look  up  to  the  temple 


ROMAN  AND   EARLY   MILAN  39 

on  the  top  where  are  seated  the  Madonna  and  Child  between 
St.  Dominic  and  St.  Peter  Martyr. 

The  church  was  a  Dominican  one.  It  still  is  served  by 
those  friars,  and  here  the  tribunal  against  heresy  was  first 
set  up. 

It  therefore  fittingly  contains  the  tomb  of  the  great  saint 
and  martyr  of  the  Order,  and  few  tombs  could  so  well  re- 
present the  spirit  and  work  of  the  age.  The  marble  is 
almost  the  colour  of  ivory  and  closely  resembles  it,  and  the 
carving  might  almost  be  in  ivory,  it  is  so  delicate,  so  sharp, 
and  so  well  undercut.  Notice  how  full  it  is  of  detail,  how 
carefully  each  face  is  wrought,  and  how  fine  is  the  finish  given 
to  hands  and  features. 

Of  its  kind  you  will  find  nothing  finer  in  Italy,  nothing 
more  representative  of  the  desire  to  do  all  as  well  as  the 
craftsman  could  do  it,  and  to  work  for  all  time. 


You  can  look  at  the  pulpit  from  which  the  saint  preached, 
you  can  recall  his  fulminations  against  sin,  and  his  strenuous 
effort  to  stamp  out  heresy  by  the  mediaeval  plan  of  persecu- 
tion, but  the  monument  to  his  memory  is  here,  and  the  name 
of  St.  Peter  Martyr,  or  the  very  name  of  the  great  Order  that 
he  so  embellished,  should  recall  to  your  memory  the  lovely 
tomb  in  the  Portinari  Chapel. 

Look  at  the  splendid  lamps  Michelozzo  designed  for  this 
chapel,  and  the  tall  bronze  chandeliers  that  he  wrought  so 
well.  Examine  carefully  the  inner  wrought- iron  gate, 
which  is  also  attributed  to  him,  but  do  not  waste  time 
over  the  frescoes,  which  are  not  by  Foppa  (whose  work 
is  in  the  entrance  chapel  close  by)  and  even  if  they  were, 
you  will  see  better  and  more  characteristic  work  by  Foppa 
later  on. 

This  is  not,  however,  the  only  fine  tomb  to  be  seen  in 
this  church,  although  it  is  by  far  the  finest,  but  in  the  smaller 
chapels  on  the  R.  of  the  entrance  you  will  find  others,  that 
are  well  worth  your  consideration.     In  the  first  chapel  is  a 


40  MILAN 

monument  to  Stephano  Brivio,  whose  portrait  was  painted 
by  Ambrogio  de'  Predis,  and  the  portrait  of  whose  brother 
by  the  same  artist  you  will  presently  find  in  Poldi-Pezzoli 
picture  gallery.  This  is  a  monument  of  1485  attributed  to 
Bramante,  the  celebrated  architect,  from  whom  some  say 
Piero  della  Francesca  learned.  It  is  of  very  pretty  dehcate 
floral  work,  and  quite  characteristic  of  the  period  which  the 
Italians  term  cinquecento.  A  httle  farther  up  the  church 
are  three  Visconti  tombs.  In  the  fourth  chapel,  one  to 
Stefano  Visconti,  1327,  and  in  the  sixth,  tomb  to  Gasparo 
Visconti  and  his  wife  Agnes. 

This  Gasparo  was  connected  with  our  own  history,  as  he 
came  over  to  England  to  the  court  of  Edward  III.  no  less 
than  five  times,  bent  on  making  matrimonial  arrangements 
between  the  children  of  that  king  and  members  of  the 
Visconti  house.  He  received  two  English  orders,  one  of 
them  being  that  of  the  Garter,  and  very  faintly  you  can  yet 
trace  the  badge  of  this  order  encircling  his  arms,  but  for 
the  most  part  the  arms  have  been  so  injured  that  they  are 
indecipherable.  The  reliefs  on  Gasparo's  tomb  represent 
the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  a  fitting  subject  for  a  tomb  in 
this  church,  and  that  opposite  on  his  wife's  is  the  Coronation 
of  Mary.  These  two  are  fifteenth-century  tombs,  erected,  as 
you  will  see,  a  little  earlier  than  the  one  in  the  first  chapel, 
and  a  hundred  years  later  than  the  one  in  the  Portinari 
Chapel.  The  relief  work  is  more  minute  and  searching  than 
in  the  earlier  tombs,  and  the  spiral  columns  are  grander  and 
bolder.  The  Lions  on  which  the  columns  rest  are  very 
characteristic  of  the  fifteenth  century.  You  will  see  them 
in  the  porches  of  churches  and  cathedrals  erected  at  that 
time. 

Now  look  round  the  church  generally,  and  walk  up  on  the 
raised  choir,  under  which  you  went  to  reach  the  Portinari 
Chapel,  by  a  door  which  you  will  find  at  the  back  of  the  high 
altar. 

Here  you  will  see  the  stalls  of  the  friars  arranged  so  that 
they  iway  sing  the  daily  offices  in  community,  and  here  it 


ROMAN  AND  EARLY   MILAN  41 

was  that  the  great  tribunal  against  heresy,  called  the  Holy 
Inquisition,  sat. 

Remember  you  are  in  a  Dominican  church,  and  that  this 
Order  was  the  philosophic  and  learned  Order.  It  was  the 
guardian  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  preserved  their 
purity,  protected  the  faithful  against  heresy,  and  extir- 
pated heresy  ;  and  you  are  standing  in  one  of  the  holiest 
churches  of  the  Order,  that  in  which  St.  Peter  Martyr 
preached,  and  where,  in  1253,  he  was  buried.  Only 
thirteen  years  after  his  death  he  was  canonised,  and 
you  will  often  see  him  depicted  in  pictures  intended  for 
Dominican  churches.  His  great  tomb  was  erected  about 
eighty  years  after  his  death,  but  his  bones  have  always  lain 
in  this  church,  and  are,  we  may  suppose,  here  still. 


After  seeing  San  Eustorgio  please  retrace  your  steps,  not 
only  chronologically,  but  also  actually,  and  pass  to  quite 
another  part  of  Milan  to  visit  San  Ambrogio. 

You  will  go  back  to  the  Duomo  and  take  a  tram  for  Porta 
Magenta,  and  tell  the  man  to  put  you  down  near  to  San 
Ambrogio.  He  will  set  you  down  two  minutes'  walk  from 
the  church,  down  a  side  street  to  the  right  leading  off 
the  Corso  Magenta.  This  is  not  the  shortest  way  to  reach 
the  church,  but  I  take  it  you  do  not  know  your  way  about 
Milan,  and  also  desire  to  save  time,  and  you  will  do  so  by 
using  these  convenient  electric  trams. 

Now  at  San  Ambrogio  there  is  a  great  deal  to  see,  and  I 
would  prefer  that  you  start  fresh  in  the  morning  to  see  it, 
and  give  up  a  considerable  time  to  your  task. 

Put  some  money  in  your  pocket,  for  I  am  going  to  test 
your  attention  by  asking  you  to  give  five  lire  to  see  the 
**  Palliotto,  or  altar  front,  and  another  two  or  three  lire 
if  you  can  persuade  the  custode  to  open  the  shrine  to  see 
the  body  of  St.  Ambrose. 

These  are  extras  to  our  ordinary  expenditure,  but  you  must 
not  grudge  the  first  one  especially,  as  the  Palliotto  is  one  of 
the  greatest  things  in  Europe,  and  you  must  certainly  see  it. 


42  MILAN 

As  you  near  the  church,  look  out  under  the  Hme  trees 
on  the  right  as  you  enter  for  a  solitary  Roman  column, 
the  only  other  important  record  of  Roman  Milan  that  we 
shall  see.  No  one  can  say  to  what  building  it  originally 
belonged,  nor  why  in  early  days  it  was  left  standing  here 
in  solitary  dignity,  but  the  Lombard  kings  recognised  its 
symbolic  character,  and  deeming  themselves  the  successors 
of  ancient  Rome,  took  their  coronation  oaths  under  the 
shadow  of  this  column  ere  they  proceeded  into  San  Am- 
brogio  to  be  crowned. 

The  trust  between  monarch  and  people  was  here  for- 
mulated and  sworn  to,  and  then  the  Church  ratified  it,  and 
gave  full  power  to  the  monarch  in  its  coronation  seiTice 
in  the  adjacent  church. 

In  San  Ambrogio  we  have  a  church  founded  by  St. 
Ambrose  himself  when  Bishop  of  Milan,  dedicated  by  him 
(not  to  himself  as  you  may  well  believe)  but  to  two  saints — 
St.  Gervasius  and  St.  Protasius,  who  were  martyred,  in 
A.D.  67,  by  order  of  the  Emperor  Nero.  Of  the  Church 
of  St.  Ambrose  nothing  remains,  but  the  building  we  now 
see  goes  back  to  the  time  of  another  Bishop  of  Milan, 
Aspertus,  who  lived  in  about  870,  and  who  built  this  im- 
portant church.  Of  course  it  has  been  repaired  and 
restored,  but  when,  in  1631,  Cardinal  Federigo  Borromeo, 
who  was  titular  Cardinal  of  this  church  and  Archbishop 
of  Milan,  and  whose  house  I  want  you  to  see  presently, 
employed  Richini,  the  architect,  to  repair  it,  he  gave  him 
the  most  inflexible  instructions  to  do  as  little  as  pos- 
sible, and  to  alter  no  feature  whatever  of  the  ancient 
edifice. 

Practically  we  enter  an  ancient  Christian  church  of  the 
ninth  century,  with  many  of  its  leading  features  and  much 
of  its  beauty  intact.  First  of  all  notice  the  courtyard,  or 
atrium,  into  which  we  first  pass  ere  we  gain  the  door  of  the 
church,  and  which  has  an  arcade  on  all  sides.  This  was 
the  entrance  beyond  which  those  persons  called  catechu- 
mens, who  were  not  yet  baptized  but  still  under  instruction, 
were  not  allowed  to  pass. 


ROMAN  AND   EARLY  MILAN  43 

Many  of  the  early  converts  were  but  Pagans  in  their  ideas 
and  thoughts  even  when  under  instruction,  and  while  it  was 
considered  fitting  that  they  should  see  the  gorgeous  cere- 
monial of  the  mysteries  of  faith  and  have  all  its  meaning 
explained  to  them,  yet  they  were  not,  until  baptized,  in 
a  fit  state  to  enter  the  sacred  edifice  and  be  present  at 
the  Mass. 

The  Catholic  Church  still  retains  the  same  doctrine  and 
practice,  as  may  easily  be  seen  at  the  baptism  of  a  child, 
when  the  first  part  of  the  service  takes  place  in  the  porch, 
and  then  the  child  or  its  sponsors,  holding  on  to  the  stole  of 
the  priest,  are  led  by  him  into  the  church. 

All  around  this  atrium  will  be  seen  Christian  memorials, 
altars,  sarcophagi,  monumental  inscriptions,  tombs,  and 
broken  fragments  from  the  older  church,  together  with 
one  of  those  fine  great  stone  coffins  of  the  Gothic  period. 

There  are  bits  of  the  original  fresco-work  to  be  still  seen 
on  the  walls,  and  here,  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  history 
of  the  Church,  were  assembled  the  converts  from  heathenism, 
young  and  old,  and  the  bishops  and  priests  of  the  Church 
instructing  them  in  the  path  of  Christianity,  and  preparing 
many  of  them,  and  themselves  at  the  same  time,  for  the 
crown  of  martyrdom. 

You  will  remark  as  you  stand  in  this  atrium,  upon  the 
beauty  of  the  Jive  pointed  arches  which  form  the  west 
wall  of  the  church,  the  central  lancet  being  the  highest, 
and  the  others  on  either  side  lower  in  proportion,  and 
you  will  see  the  gallery  formed  across  the  porch  from 
which  some  eminent  ecclesiastic  could  address  the  crowd 
below. 

Now,  coming  nearer,  you  will  notice  over  the  L.  doorway 
a  rough  relief  of  about  the  ninth  or  early  tenth  centui-y, 
representing  a  martyr  between  two  extraordinary  lions,  and 
remember  how  often  the  same  fate  must  have  overtaken 
those  who  listened  to  the  preaching  here. 

Inside  the  church  the  effect  is  still  early,  plain,  severe 
Lombard  style,  although  the  round  arches  of  brickwork  are 
not  fifty  years  old,  but  have  been  built  in  facsimile  of  those 


44  MILAN 

in  the  original  edifice  which  in  the  thirteenth  century  were 
spoiled  by  alteration.  To  realise  completely  the  character  of 
the  ancient  church  walk  right  up,  enter  the  choir,  which  is 
surrounded  by  an  original  marble  screen,  pass  round  and 
behind  the  high  altar  (which  you  will  see  stands  right  away 
from  any  wall,  clear  of  all  adjacent  stone-work,  as  it  should 
in  a  basilica),  and  ascending  the  steps  to  the  upper  choir,  go 
right  away  to  its  extreme  end,  and  there  you  will  find  the 
marble  *  chair  of  St.  Ambrose. 

Here  sat  the  great  Archbishop,  in  this  very  chair,  in 
synod  surrounded  by  the  bishops  of  the  other  northern  sees 
who  were  his  suffragans  in  his  great  archdiocese,  which 
stretched  from  the  Engadine  to  the  Gulf  of  Genoa.  Eighteen 
bishops  held  the  various  sees,  and  paid  fealty  to  the  Arch- 
bishop, but  their  seats  are  not  here,  as  when  in  1580  the 
new  arrangement  of  the  diocese  came  into  force,  the  church 
ceased  to  be  used  for  synods,  and  became  a  capitular  one, 
and  the  present  stalls  of  Flanders-work  were  put  for  the 
chapter. 

The  Archbishop's  chair,  however,  still  remained,  and 
I  have  seen  the  present  occupant  of  the  see  of  Milan  seated 
in  the  midst  of  his  clergy  in  the  very  chair  occupied  a 
thousand  years  ago  by  his  saintly  predecessor. 

Now  look  up  at  the  roof  of  this  choir  and  you  will  see  a 
magnificent  *  Mosaic  upon  a  gold  ground  glowing  in 
gorgeous  splendour,  and  which  is  on  a  sunny  day  like  a 
sheet  of  molten  metal-work  with  jewels. 

Our  Lord  is  in  the  centre  and  around  Him  are  five  saints 
—  Saints  Protasius,  Gervasius,  Satirus,  Marcellina,  and 
Candida,  all  martyrs  ;  together  with  symbolic  figures  of  two 
cities— Milan,  the  see  of  St.  Ambrose,  and  Tours,  because 
St.  Ambrose  was  said  to  have  been  present  in  a  vision  ere 
he  died  at  the  death  and  funeral  of  St.  Martin,  the  generous 
bishop  of  that  city.  Notice  the  fact  that  the  inscription 
on  this  mosaic  is  partly  in  Greek  and  partly  in  Latin,  as 
the  amalgamation  of  the  empires  and  their  power  was  at 
that  period  taking  place,  and  the  rule  was  passing  to 
Byzantium  from  Rome. 


ROMAN   AND    EARLY   MILAN  45 

We  shall  then  turn  down  the  steps  again  to  the  high 
altar,  and  here  it  is  well  to  realise  how  important  is  the  spot 
on  which  this  altar  stands. 

Here  St.  Ambrose  baptized  St.  Augustine,  here  the 
Lombard  kings  were  crowned,  from  888  down  to  nearly 
1 500,  and  under  our  feet  is  the  body  of  the  saint  himself. 

Even  yet  there  is  an  older  civilisation  marked  here,  for 
the  *four  columns  of  red  porphyry  that  surround  the 
canopy  over  the  altar  and  the  two  lovely  pink  ones  right  up 
in  the  corner  of  the  choir  are  of  greater  antiquity,  and  are 
said  to  have  come  from  a  temple  of  Jupiter  that  stood  in 
the  Corso  Magenta,  and  to  have  been  presented  by  the 
Emperor  to  St.  Ambrose  as  trophies  with  which  to  build 
the  altar  in  his  church. 

Up  above  the  altar  is  an  archaic  gilt  relief  of  Christ 
between  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Peter,  which  must  be  dated 
soon  after  the  death  of  the  Archbishop,  but  the  greatest 
sight  in  St.  Ambrose  is  the  altar  itself 

It  will  be  well  for  you,  so  soon  as  you  enter  the  church, 
to  seek  out  the  custode,  or  one  of  the  priests,  and  tell  him 
that  you  wish  to  see  the  *  *  Palliotto,  and  are  prepared  to 
pay  the  fee  of  five  lire. 

You  must  not  go  on  a  Sunday,  or  the  altar  will  be  in  use 
all  the  morning,  and  it  is  possible  that  even  on  an  ordinary 
day  you  may  find  the  high  altar  needed  for  Mass,  but  this 
is  not  very  likely  to  be  the  case,  unless  you  have  hit  upon 
one  of  the  great  festivals,  and  probably  very  soon  your 
wishes  will  be  gratified. 

If,  however,  it  is  a  festival,  you  will  be  sure  to  be  able  to 
see  the  Palliotto  after  midday,  and  you  may  quietly  walk 
round  the  church,  or  leave  it  for  a  while,  and  go  up  to  see 
the  Cenacolo,  and  then  return  a  little  later  on.' 

The  whole  of  the  high  altar  is  encased  in  hard  steel, 
forming  one  huge  safe,  and  this  is  unlocked  by  twelve  keys, 
opening  six  massive  doors,  and  revealing  one  of  the  grandest 
pieces  of  mediseval  work  in  Europe.  The  Palliotto  was 
made  a  thousand  years  ago,  actually  about  835,  to  the 


46  MILAN 

order  of  Archbishop  Angilbertus  II.  by  a  craftsman  named 
"Wolvinus,"  who  signed  his  work  and  called  himself 
"  Magister  Phaber"  or  Master  Smith. 

A  great  master  indeed  he  was,  and  a  glorious  piece  of 
workmanship  is  before  us. 

The  front  is  entirely  of  plates  of  £"0/^,  save  the  top  and 
bottom  mouldings,  which  are  silver^  and  it  is  divided  off  into 
three  great  sections,  and  these  again  into  smaller  ones.  Each 
division  is  bordered  with  an  exquisite  flat  border,  into  which 
are  set  splendid  uncut  precious  jewels  separated  one  from 
the  other  by  even  more  precious  pieces  of  enainel-worV  of 
pure  and  lovely  colour. 

Mark  in  the  border  of  the  great  sections  the  green  ground, 
with  pure  blue  and  white  oval  ornaments,  and  notice  how 
translucent  and  how  even  is  the  enamel,  and  how  perfectly 
it  is  preserved. 

Notice  how  in  the  side  borders  violet  takes  the  place  of 
green,  and  mark  the  green  and  gold  enamel  of  the  central 
panel.  Look  at  the  setting  of  each  stone,  and  all  the  chain- 
work  wrought  around  them,  dividing  panel  from  panel,  and 
then  commence  to  go  carefully  over  the  panels  of  the  front 
one  by  one. 

In  the  very  middle  is  our  Lord,  and  around  Him  the 
twelve  Apostles  in  groups  of  three  each,  and  the  four  mystical 
figures  which  are  used  to  symbolise  the  Evangelists. 

Then  in  the  side  panels  of  the  front  are  twelve  scenes 
from  the  life  of  our  Lord,  of  which  the  most  marked  are 
the  Annunciation,  the  Presentation,  the  Crucifixion,  and 
the  Resurrection. 

All  are,  of  course,  treated  in  a  very  simple  and  somewhat 
grotesque  manner,  but  the  work  is  throughout  marked  by 
great  reverence  and  by  the  most  scrupulous  adherence  in 
all  its  details  to  the  Bible  story.  Every  panel  is  beaten 
out  in  gold,  set  into  its  place,  and  decorated  with  the 
gorgeous  enamels  and  jewels. 

Go  round  now  to  the  back,  and  here  you  will  find  silver 
plates  instead  of  gold,  but  just  the  same  beauty  of  workman- 
ship, and  certain  special  features  different  from  the  front. 


ROMAN   AND   EARLY  MILAN  47 

You  will  notice  the  name  of  the  goldsmith  who  did  the 
work  proudly  recorded  as  it  deserved  to  be — 

WOLVINV    M  AGIST    PHABER 

and  also  the  facts  duly  engraved  into  the  plate  of  silver 
that  it  was  made  for  Archbishop  Angilbertus  and  in  honour 
of  St.  Ambrose. 

It  is  also  interesting  to  remark  that  there  are  upon  this 
back  *eight  little  circles  of  enamel,  representing  heads  of 
female  saints,  each  a  little  different  one  from  the  other,  and 
surrounded  by  circles  of  white  dots,  and  that  these  little 
medallions,  each  about  the  size  of  a  penny,  are  attached  to 
the  Palliotto  by  gold  settings  and  are  surrounded  each  by  a 
twisted  gold  chain. 

My  own  impression  is  that  these  are  more  ancient  than 
any  other  part  of  the  Palliotto,  and  were  done  before  the 
time  of  Wolvinus  and  used  by  him  to  attach  en  to  his 
work.  The  drawing  of  the  faces  is  more  archaic  than  the 
rest  of  the  work,  the  enamelling  rather  coarser,  and  in 
these  eight  medallions,  I  believe,  we  have  some  of  the 
earliest  enamel-work  now  existing.  Probably  they  are 
Celtic  and  possibly  even  Irish.  The  Archbishop  came 
from  the  north  of  Gaul,  and  he  may  have  possessed  these 
eight  enamel  plaques,  presented  to  him  perhaps  by  some 
Celtic  ruler  as  very  precious  things,  and  from  them  he 
may  have  suggested  the  entire  work  to  the  clever  craftsman 
who  carried  it  out. 

The  scenes  on  this  back  mostly  relate  to  St.  Ambrose. 
In  the  very  centre  are  the  two  archangels,  St.  Michael  and 
St.  Gabriel.  Another  pair  of  panels  represent  St.  Ambrose 
blessing  the  Archbishop,  who  is  termed  DOMINVS  in  the 
inscription,  and  the  master  smith  Wolvinus,  and  then  we 
commence  the  scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Ambrose. 

There  is  the  story  of  the  bees  swarming  around  him 
when  he  was  asleep  at  Aries  ;  there  is  his  military  position 
commanding  certain  provinces  in  Italy ;  there  is  his 
selection  as  Archbishop  by  the  popular  cry,  and  his  flight 


48  MILAN 

to  escape  the  responsible  position.  Then  follows  his 
baptism,  which  in  his  case  followed  his  election  to  the 
see,  and  then  his  consecration. 

Two  scenes  depict  his  miraculous  presence  as  in  a  vision 
at  the  death  and  funeral  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours  ;  one  depicts 
his  preaching  when  the  angels  aid  his  eloquence  and  supply 
words  for  him  to  use.  In  another  he  is  healing  the  lame  ; 
then  comes  the  scene  where  he  has  a  personal  vision  of 
Christ  ;  and  then  follows  his  reception  of  the  last  Sacrament 
and  his  death. 

The  two  ends  of  the  Palliotto  are  worked  in  the  same 
way,  and  represent  angels,  apostles,  and  martyrs,  and 
everywhere  is  this  wonderful,  brilliant,  imperishable  enamel, 
and  the  lavish  use  of  pearls,  precious  stones,  and  coral. 

So  carefully  is  the  work  done  that  we  can  quite  realise 
the  cere7tio7iial  dress  of  the  period^  the  use  of  the  pallium 
and  crazier,  and  the  very  ceremonials  of  the  Mass  and  of 
anointing  and  of  consecration ;  and  therefore  this  Palliotto 
is  not  only  a  gorgeous  piece  of  craftsmanship,  as  I  am 
sure  you  will  acknowledge,  and  one  carried  out  with  infinite 
skill  and  an  exquisite  sense  of  colour,  but  also  a  document 
as  to  the  ninth  century  that  cannot  deceive,  and  which  it 
is  impossible  to  misread. 

Now  underneath  this  altar,  in  a  crypt,  is  preserved  the 
*body  of  the  saint,  and  if  you  can  persuade  the  custode 
to  unlock  the  shrine,  you  will  see  a  rich  piece  of  ornamental 
silver-work  in  which  rest  the  bones  of  the  two  saints  to 
whom  the  Church  is  dedicated,  and  St.  Ambrose  between 
them. 

There  is  splendid  mediaeval  needlework  to  be  seen  in 
some  of  the  vestments  which  help  to  clothe  the  dry  bones, 
and  part  of  the  ornaments  that  are  upon  the  vestment  of 
St.  Ambrose  are  as  early  as  his  time,  and  probably  therefore 
were  actually  worn  by  him. 

Having  looked  at  this  shrine,  and  perhaps  also  examined 
a  fine  silver  Pax  in  the  Sacristy  given  by  one  of  the 
Visconti    to    the    church,    and    representing   the    head   of 


ROMAN   AND    EARLY   MILAN  49 

Christ  with  two  angels,  and  adorned  with  the  Visconti 
arms,  you  will  be  ready  to  go  round  the  church  with  me. 

First  to  the  right  aisle,  noticing  as  we  proceed  up  it 
the  following  items  : — 

An  ancient  relief  of  an  archbishop  (called  St.  Ambrose, 
but  probably  not  representing  him  at  all)  in  a  circle,  wearing 
the  pallium  and  pontifical  vestments,  and  giving  the  bene- 
diction ;  the  early  sarcophagus  of  Bishop  Aspertus  ;  the 
frescoes  of  Gaudenzio  Ferrari  in  the  side  entrance  (or  first 
recess),  in  which  the  artist's  strenuous  work  in  the  drawing 
of  the  limbs  can  be  appreciated,  and  the  sad  sweetness  of 
his  Pieta  noticed.  (The  frescoes  attributed  to  Luini  in  this 
recess  must  not  be  accepted  as  the  master's  own  work.) 

Continuing  you  may  just  glance  at  some  effective  deco- 
ration by  Lanini  in  the  sixth  chapel — two  scenes  from  the 
life  of  St.  George,  and  some  surrounding  representations 
of  children  and  flowers  ;  and  then  you  will  pass  into  the 
chapel  of  San  Satiro,  which  opens  out  of  this  aisle. 

Pass  right  through  the  outer  chapel,  turn  to  the  left, 
and  you  will  enter  a  very  curious  *ancient  little  chapel, 
and  see  on  the  walls  of  it  some  mosaics  of  the  saints, 
who  were  commemorated  in  this  church  specially,  and 
who  are  there  depicted  as  martyrs  only,  not  designated  as 
saints  nor  crowned  with  the  halo  of  distinction.  The 
altar  of  this  chapel  is  ornamented  with  a  very  early  piece 
of  relief  work  in  marble,  but  on  the  left  of  it,  is  a  curious 
piece  of  mosaic,  representing  a  white  animal,  that  came 
from  the  original  Christian  Church  here,  and  is  one  of 
the  oldest  things  in  San  Ambrogio,  perhaps  going  back  to 
the  fourth  century.  It  is  rough  and  bold,  but  very  effective, 
and  is  an  interesting  example  of  how  these  earliest  Christian 
churches  were  decorated.  The  screen  of  this  little  chapel 
also  belongs  to  the  period  of  St.  Ambrose,  or  about  that 
lime,  and  beneath  the  altar  is  a  plain  vaulted  contemporary 
crypt. 

Now  go  under  the  raised  choir,  and  near  to  the  Sacristy 
door  you  will  find  two  pictures,  one  by  an  old  Lombard 
artist,  very  possibly  Foppa,  representing  the  Madonna  and 

D 


so  MILAN 

Child  with  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Jerome,  and  one  also  of  a 
Madonna  and  Child  (opposite  to  it)  with  St.  Joachim  and 
St.  John  Baptist,  which  is  very  likely  the  work  of  Luini. 

Pass  down  that  side  to  the  pulpit,  which  is  of  very  early 
Lombard  work,  and  encloses  beneath  it  a  Christian  tomb, 
with  Christian  emblems  carved  upon  it ;  and  at  the  back  of 
the  pulpit  is  a  very  curious  representation  of  an  Agape,  or 
Love  Feast. 

In  the  pulpit  is  a  curious  Byzantine  bronze  eagle,  with  a 
figure  of  Our  Lord,  for  holding  the  book  of  the  Gospels. 

The  two  objects  which  you  will  see  in  the  nave  surmount- 
ing granite  columns  are  curious  but  not  beautiful. 

One  is  said  to  be  a  copy  of  the  Serpent  made  by  Moses, 
but  is  considered  by  authorities  to  be  an  emblem  or  talisman 
of  the  fourth  century,  which,  in  1005,  was  presented  to  this 
church  as  a  religious  symbol  by  the  Byzantine  Emperor, 
and  has  been  here  ever  since. 

The  bronze  cross  opposite  to  it  is  said  to  have  been  given 
at  the  same  time,  but  is  600  years  later  in  date  than  the 
talisman. 

The  Baptistery,  which  you  will  pass  last,  has  a  fresco  in 
it  attributed  to  Luini,  which,  however,  only  belongs  to  his 
school. 

As  you  leave  this  interesting  church  look  up  at  the  folding 
doors,  and  at  the  top  of  each  of  them,  enclosed  behind  iron- 
work, you  will  see  two  small  panels.  These  panels  are  said 
to  be  of  cypress  wood,  and  to  be  a  part  of  the  famous  doors 
that  St.  Ambrose  closed  in  the  face  of  the  great  Emperor 
Theodosius,  after  he  had  allowed  his  Gothic  mercenaries  to 
massacre  the  helpless  inhabitants  of  Thessalonica  in  390. 

There  had  been  an  insurrection  in  the  place,  and,  in  the 
tumult,  one  of  the  imperial  officers,  Botheric,  had  been  killed, 
and  this  so  enraged  the  Emperor  that  he  ordered  a  massacre 
of  all  the  inhabitants  at  once,  and  the  Gothic  soldiers  killed 
some  seven  thousand  of  the  people  in  a  few  hours.  St. 
Ambrose,  full  of  indignation,  rebuked  the  Emperor,  and  on 
his  approaching  the  church  to  attend  the  Mass,  closed  the 
doors  in  his  face,  and  refused  to  allow  him  to  enter  the  church 


ROMAN  AND  EARLY  MILAN  51 

whilst  his  hands  were  stained  with  innocent  blood.  It  was 
not  the  doors  of  this  church  in  which  we  stand  that 
were  closed  by  the  bishop,  but  the  doors  of  the  Church  of 
San  Vittore  in  Corpo,  at  that  time  called  the  Basilica  Por- 
tiana,  and  standing  outside  the  walls  ;  but  when  that  church 
was  rebuilt,  the  portions  of  the  doors  that  we  now  see  were 
brought  away  from  it  and  were  let  into  the  doors  of  the 
church  in  which  we  now  stand  as  the  most  fitting  place 
in  which  they  could  be  preserved. 


You  can  walk  round  presently,  if  you  like,  and  see  the  site 
upon  which  the  celebrated  rebuff  took  place,  but  you  will 
not  find  anything  to  remind  you  of  the  scene,  as  the  present 
Church  of  San  Vittore  was  built  in  1560,  and,  although  very 
gorgeous  and  splendid  in  its  interior,  it  has  retained  no- 
thing of  the  ancient  edifice  that  once  stood  upon  the 
site.  There  is  a  beautiful  chapel  on  the  right  (the  sixth), 
with  fine  black  marble  columns  and  tombs  of  the  Arese 
family,  and  there  is  a  good  screen  of  iron  and  bronze  work  ; 
but  that  is  all,  and  we  have  nothing  left  that  will  help  us 
to  conjure  up  in  our  memory  the  scene  that  took  place  at 
the  doors.  We  can,  however,  picture  the  great  bishop, 
clad  in  his  episcopal  robes,  wearing  a  rich  cope  and  mitre, 
standing  before  the  church,  and  at  the  risk  of  his  life  re- 
buking the  Emperor,  who,  at  the  head  of  his  stately  retinue 
and  in  all  the  pomp  of  his  Imperial  splendour,  sought  to 
enter  into  the  church.  We  can  also  picture  the  completing 
scene  of  the  drama,  eight  months  afterwards,  when  the 
Emperor,  having  done  penance,  was  absolved  at  the  same 
doors,  and  in  the  garb  of  a  penitent  entered  the  church, 
followed  by  his  wondering  court  and  people  ;  and  can  so 
appreciate  the  power  that  was  exercised  by  the  courageous 
bishop,  who  dared  rebuke  the  then  ruler  of  the  world,  and 
was  respected  by  him  for  so  unflinchingly  doing  his  duty. 
We  have  now,  I  think,  given  enough  attention  to  that  aspect 
of  Milanese  history,  and  we  must  move  on  in  our  survey  of 
the  life  of  the  city. 


52  MILAN 

C.  THE   SFORZA   AND   VISCONTI 

INFLUENCE 

The  next  place  to  which  I  am  going  to  direct  your  atten- 
tion has  to  do  with  the  period  to  which  I  have  already 
referred,  that  of  the  independent  rulers  of  the  city  in 
Renaissance  times. 

The  succession  of  these  rulers  we  must  make  quite  clear 
in  our  minds,  ere  we  start  looking  at  any  of  the  buildings 
which  Milan  owes  to  their  genius  or  encouragement,  and 
ere  we  consider  the  period  of  the  greatest  splendour  of  the 
city. 

First  of  all  we  have  a  great  General,  Pagano  della  Torre, 

who  in  1237  saved  the  inhabitants  from  extinction  at  the 
hands  of  Frederick  II.,  by  rallying  the  army  and  defeating 
a  wing  of  the  army  of  the  Emperor.  He  was  hailed  as  the 
saviour  of  the  city,  and  called  by  the  citizens  to  the  office 
of  "podesta,"  which  he  occupied  until  1241. 

In  his  hands  the  city  first  took  the  democratic  line  that 
has  from  time  to  time  distinguished  it,  by  establishing  a 
property  tax  for  its  sustenance  that  should  fall  with  equal 
incidence  upon  all  citizens,  rich  or  poor ;  and  this  very  tax 
was  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  downfall  of  the  Torriani  family, 
as  it  brought  about  the  enmity  of  the  noble  families,  who 
resented  it  as  an  attack  upon  their  privileges.  However, 
from  1 24 1  till  1277,  the  Torriani  provided  the  rulers  of 
Milan,  first  as  "  podestas"  and  then  as  "  signori,"  and,  besides 
Pagano,  three  other  members  of  the  family  held  the  supreme 
power.  Then  came  the  turn  of  the  Viscontis,  as  Otho 
Visconti,  Archbishop  of  Milan,  the  head  of  the  family  and 
the  bitter  opponent  of  the  Torriani,  a  very  warlike  prelate, 
defeated  the  last  Torriani  ruler  at  the  battle  of  Desio,  became 
lord  of  the  city,  and  founded  the  great  house  that  for  several 
generations  ruled  over  the  fortunes  of  Milan.  From  1262 
to  1447,  with  a  very  short  interregnum  of  eight  years,  the 
Visconti  ruled,  giving  twelve  lords  to  Milan.    Then  there  was 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE     53 

the  reaction  and  a  republic  was  proclaimed,  which  only 
lasted  for  three  years  ;  and  in  1450  we  find  another 
family  coming  to  the  fore.  Filippo  Maria  Visconti,  who 
reigned  from  141 2  to  1447  as  sole  Duke  of  Milan,  was  the 
last  male  of  the  family,  but  his  only  child,  Bianca,  had 
married  Francesca  Sforza,  and  he  by  right  of  conquest, 
although  claiming  the  throne  also  by  right  of  heirship  to 
Filippo,  became  Duke  of  Milan  in  1450. 

From  that  time  down  to  1535  the  Sforza  family  ruled 
over  Milan,  but  during  that  time,  there  were  certain  intervals 
in  which  their  power  was  from  time  to  time  interrupted. 
From  1500  till  15 12,  for  example,  the  King  of  France  was 
supreme  in  the  city,  and  again,  after  1515  up  to  1522  ;  but 
excluding  these  intervals,  the  throne  of  the  dukedom  was 
held  by  the  Sforzas.  The  house  ended  with  the  death  of 
Francesco  in  1535,  and  from  that  time  down  to  17 14  Milan 
was  a  dependence  of  the  Spanish  crown.  Into  its  later 
history  we  have  no  cause  to  inquire.  It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  between  the  year  1237  and  the  year  1535,  we 
have  to  do  with  a  government  that  was  in  the  hands  of 
three  great  Milanese  families  ;  and  the  question  now  arises, 
what  have  we  to  look  at  in  Milan  that  concerns  these  three 
families. 

Of  the  Torriani,  practically  nothing,  as  the  rulers  of  this 
family  were  warriors  rather  than  scholars,  and  the  time  had 
not  yet  come  when  each  succeeding  ruler  tried  to  exceed  his 
predecessor  in  building  some  great  edifice  or  starting  some 
charitable  or  religious  foundation. 

Of  the  Visconti,  there  is  very  much,  and  notably  the 
*  *  Duomo,  to  which  we  will  now  bend  our  steps. 

Gian  Galeazzo  Visconti  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  this 
great  edifice.  In  1349,  Giovanni  had  been  the  reigning 
duke,  and  in  that  year  he  died,  leaving  the  sovereignty  to 
his  three  nephews,  Matteo,  Galeazzo,  and  Barnabo.  Matteo 
was  killed  in  1355  by  his  brothers,  who  then  divided  the 
Milanese  territory  between  them,  Barnabo  reigning  in 
Milan   and   Galeazzo   in   Pavia.     Galeazzo    died    in    1378, 


54  MILAN 

leaving  a  son,  Gian  Galeazzo,  who  seized  the  person  of  his 
uncle  Barnabo,  imprisoned  him,  and  made  himself  the  sole 
lord  of  Milan,  and  obtained  from  the  Emperor  the  title  of 
duke,  which  he  was  the  first  person  in  the  history  of  the 
city  to  assume. 

This  was  the  ruler  who  erected  the  present  Duomo. 
His  father  had  been  the  wealthiest  and  most  powerful 
potentate  within  the  boundaries  of  what  we  now  term 
Italy.  He  had  been  a  great  and  far-seeing  politician,  and 
had  aimed  at  supreme  authority.  His  daughter,  Violante, 
had  been  married  to  our  own  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  his 
son,  Gian,  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  King  of  France. 
Now,  this  son  was  upon  the  throne,  and  by  the  imprisonment 
of  his  uncle  and  his  subsequent  death  was  master  of  the 
entire  district  of  Milan  and  in  command  of  extensive  means. 
He  resided  at  Pavia,  which  then  boasted  of  a  strongly 
fortified  castle  having  within  it  a  commodious  palace,  and 
from  there  he  formulated  his  plans,  which  aimed  at  the 
supreme  power  in  Italy.  His  wealth  enabled  him  to  obtain 
the  aid  of  foreign  mercenary  troops,  whom  he  paid  well  for 
their  services,  and  soon  after  he  had  succeeded  to  the  throne 
he  set  out  to  conquer  the  neighbouring  states.  Gradually, 
the  cities  around  fell  into  his  grasp.  He  conquered  Verona, 
Ferrara,  Mantua,  and  the  country  up  to  the  very  boundaries 
of  the  great  Republic  of  Venice,  and  he  proposed  to  attack 
Pisa,  Perugia,  and  Florence,  and  would  no  doubt  have 
captured  all  of  these  had  not  his  career  been  suddenly  cut 
short  by  death. 

It  is  not  so  much,  however,  by  his  power  in  arms  that 
he  will  be  remembered,  as  by  his  desire  to  beautify  his 
city  and  to  found  the  grandest  religious  house  that  the 
world  had  yet  seen  ;  and  when  we  enter  the  Duomo  and 
visit  the  Certosa  of  Pavia,  which  both  owe  their  existence 
to  him,  we  shall  understand  how  grand  were  his  ideas, 
and  what  a  fine  sense  he  had  of  dignity  and  beauty. 

Very  little  of  the  Cathedral  could  its  founder  have  seen, 
as  he  only  lived  for  fifteen  years  after  he  had  started  the 
work  ;  but  he  endowed  the  building  with  the  famous  marble 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI  INFLUENCE     55 

quarries  of  La  Gandoglia,  and  consequently  there  was  no 
reason  for  any  delay  in  the  progress  of  the  work.  Sufficient 
of  the  building  was  in  existence  in  1402  for  his  funeral 
to  take  place  within  its  walls,  and  there  the  body  of 
the  founder  lay  for  some  forty  years  until  it  was  trans- 
ported to  the  more  wonderful  Certosa,  which  also  owed 
its  existence  to  the  same  ruler.  Succeeding  Dukes  of  Milan 
continued  to  labour  in  the  Duomo,  and  enriched  it  with 
many  gifts,  employing  upon  it  the  finest  craftsmen  that 
could  be  obtained,  and  sparing  no  means  to  render  it 
beautiful. 

Having  now  made  this  long  digression,  which  was  I 
think  needful,  in  order  that  you  should  fully  understand 
the  position  of  these  rulers  of  the  city,  let  us  take  a  look 
at  their  creation — the  Duomo. 

I  advise  you  to  enter  the  church  ere  you  give  much 
attention  to  the  outside,  and  believe  that  you  will  be 
at  once  struck  by  its  great  dignity.  Personally  I  am  of 
opinion  that  it  is  the  most  impressive  interior  in  Europe, 
and  probably  Street  does  not  overstate  the  case  when  he 
calls  it  "the  grandest  interior  in  the  whole  world."  The 
enormous  height  of  the  roof  accounts  partly  for  the  effect, 
but  the  fact  that  the  giant  pillars  rise  right  up  to  the 
vaulting  of  the  roof  without  any  clerestory  or  triforium, 
has  more  to  do  with  the  impression  of  grandeur  that  it 
produces  than  the  actual  height  of  the  building.  All  about 
its  size  you  can  read  in  the  other  guide-books,  but  it  is  not 
my  place  to  give  you  such  figures  ;  and  in  one  other  respect 
you  will  find  my  pages  deficient,  as  I  cannot  tell  you  what 
is  to  be  seen  on  the  roof  of  the  Cathedral,  as  I  have  never 
been  on  to  it  !  Every  other  guide-book  tells  you  that 
you  7/iusf  go  on  to  the  roof,  and  that  there  only  you  will 
gain  an  idea  as  to  the  beauty  of  the  building.  I  do  not. 
I  believe  that  the  view  on  a  fine  day  from  the  roof  is  very 
fine,  but  if  you  want  views  do  not  use  my  guide,  and  stay 
in  Switzerland,  where  you  can  see  plenty.  An  extensive 
view  is,  no  doubt,  a  fine  thing,  but  it  is  not  educational, 


56  MILAN 

nor  has  it  to  do  with  the  history  that  I  have  to  try  to 
tell  to  you.  If  you  go  to  the  top,  you  will  see  a  forest 
of  statues  carved  in  white  marble,  and  affixed  to  every 
possible  position  upon  which  they  can  stand,  every  statue 
finished  with  a  wonderful  accuracy  and  detail,  quite  out 
of  place  in  a  figure  that  is  to  be  seen  from  a  great  dis- 
tance, and  yet  interesting  as  it  reveals  to  the  spectator  the 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  craftsman  to  do  his  very  best 
in  his  work,  and  not  to  scamp  any  portion  of  it  even 
although  the  statues  were  to  be  placed  at  such  a  height. 
You  will  also  see  some  wonderful  tracery  in  marble,  the 
work  of  Amici  of  Cremona,  which  is  of  the  utmost  fineness 
and  perfection,  and  as  I  have  just  said  you  will  see  the 
view  (f  you  are  able  to  stand  upright,  after  your  long  climb, 
and  at  that  dizzy  height,  and  (f  the  day  happens  to  be  a 
fine  and  clear  one.  I  am  not  going,  however,  to  recom- 
mend you  to  make  the  ascent,  but  I  tell  you  what  you 
will  see  from  the  suinmit,  if  you  feel  disposed  to  take  the 
trouble  to  climb  up  the  long  winding  stairs.  For  my  part, 
reasons  of  health  forbid  my  going  with  you,  and  even 
if  they  did  not,  I  do  not  consider  the  result  at  all  com- 
mensurate with  the  exertion  required  to  climb  the  steep 
and  winding  dark  stairs. 

We  will  therefore  come  back  again  into  the  interior  of 
the  church,  and  walk  right  round  it. 

Start  from  the  W.  end  on  the  R.,  and  after  passing  the 
granite  sarcophagus  of  Archbishop  Aribert,  who  died  in 
104s,  notice  the  fine  tomb  in  red  Verona  marble  of  Otho 
Visconti,  whom  I  have  just  mentioned  as  defeating  the 
Torriani  at  Desio,  and  starting  the  rule  of  his  family  which 
was  to  last  for  so  long  a  period. 

This  tomb  was,  of  course,  erected  long  before  the  present 
Cathedral,  and  stood  in  the  earlier  building  that  occupied 
the  same  site  ;  but  a  curious  fact  about  it  is,  that  within  it 
is  buried  another  member  of  the  same  family.  Archbishop 
Giovanni  Visconti,  who  died  fifty-nine  years  afterwards, 
and  who  also  was  not  only  the  spiritual  but  also  the  tem- 
poral sovereign  of  the  city,     Archbishop  Otho  left  all  his 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI  INFLUENCE     57 

possessions  to  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  and  they  employed 
a  sculptor,  Ricci,  to  erect  this  monument  ;  but  why  the  same 
tomb  served  for  the  other  Archbishop  I  cannot  tell  you, 
only  that  as  the  tomb  was  not  completed  till  a  long  time 
after  the  death  of  Otho,  it  may  have  only  just  been  ready 
when  Giovanni  died,  and  so  have  been  convenient  for  his 
burial  also.  A  little  farther  on,  the  tomb  erected  by  Pope 
Paul  IV.  to  his  two  brothers  is  worth  attention,  as  it  is  a 
fine  piece  of  bronze  work  by  Leone  Leoni,  a  noted  worker 
in  metal ;  and  then  at  the  entrance  to  the  choir  aisle  or 
ambulatory  you  will  see  the  grand  tomb  erected  in  1538 
to  the  memory  of  Carricciolo,  a  Governor  of  the  city  during 
the  time  of  the  Spanish  rule.  It  is  of  late  work  and 
consequently  grandiose  in  style,  but  being  made  of  black 
marble  it  is  singularly  impressive  in  efifect,  and  deserves 
attention  as  a  fine  example  in  which  the  sculptor  has  used 
his  material  well,  and  produced  a  really  great  monument 
by  the  skilful  use  of  his  marble,  rather  than  by  any  ex- 
cellence of  workmanship  or  design.  You  will  find  that 
the  aisle  continues  all  around  the  choir  of  the  church, 
forming  an  ambulatory,  and  giving  greater  dignity  to  the 
altar,  which  stands  out  clear  of  the  rest  of  the  build- 
ing ;  and  a  little  beyond  the  black  marble  tomb  you 
will  perceive,  let  into  the  wall,  a  very  early  monument, 
bearing  the  sacred  monogram  and  the  A  and  12  of  the 
Greek  alphabet,  which  is  said  to  have  an  antiquity  that 
takes  it  back  into  the  ninth  century,  and  which  was  evi- 
dently considered  of  sufficient  sanctity  to  be  mentioned 
in  the  papers  as  to  the  building  of  this  Cathedral,  and 
to  have  so  important  a  position  given  to  it  as  it  now 
occupies. 

You  need  not  study  the  reliefs  of  the  history  of  the 
Virgin  which  adorn  the  walls  of  this  ambulatory,  as  they 
are  not  of  striking  importance,  but  continue  your  walk 
until  you  come  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sacrament,  and 
th  en  give  some  attention  to  the  great  bronze  ^Candelabrum 
which  stands  in  front  of  the  altar  upon  the  floor  of  the 
church,  and  which  cannot  fail  to  attract  your  notice.     It 


58  MILAN 

was  presented  to  the  Cathedral  in  1562  by  a  member  of 
the  Trivulzi  family,  about  whom  I  shall  have  something 
to  say  in  the  next  church  that  we  visit  ;  but,  in  my 
opinion,  it  was  made  some  fifty  years  before  that  date. 
It  is  of  great  height,  and  remarkably  suitable  for  the 
position  that  it  has  occupied  for  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  and  as  all  the  detail  is  cleverly  worked  out  and 
admirably  wrought,  it  is  worth  your  attention.  Notice  the 
four  dragons  at  the  feet  with  their  tails  turned  over  upon 
themselves,  and  then  look  into  the  representation  of  hell 
and  purgatory  which  are  above  them,  and  which  are  full 
of  quaint  humour  and  curious  design.  Higher  up  above 
your  head  are  yet  grander  representations  of  the  Adoration 
of  the  Magi,  but  in  all  of  it,  although  the  detail  is  so 
elaborate,  the  idea  of  decoration  is  never  overlooked,  and 
the  whole  huge  stand  is  a  complete  piece  of  thoughtful 
design,  in  which  the  less  important  details  are  never 
allowed  to  intrude. 

Close  by  this  bronze  candelabrum  are  two  lovely  *  windows 
which  for  colour  are  unequalled  in  the  building,  and  are  in 
fact  almost  the  only  ones  which  I  can  recommend  you  to 
look  at  or  to  admire. 

Right  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  aisle  you  will  see  eight 
curious  figures  of  saints,  and  a  relief  of  the  Virgin  and 
Child  which  were  originally  in  the  old  Cathedral,  and  which 
go  back  nearly  as  far  as  the  time  of  St.  Ambrose.  They 
also  are  mentioned  as  amongst  the  sacred  things  that  were 
to  be  carefully  guarded  during  the  erection  of  this  Cathedral, 
and  to  be  replaced  in  important  positions  in  the  new  building, 
as  they  were  originally  in  what  is  termed  in  contemporary 
documents  as  the  "Great  new  Basilica  of  Blessed  Ambrose." 
One  trace  of  Roman  domination  we  shall  find  ere  we  finish 
our  perambulation  of  the  aisle,  as  the  font  which  stands 
under  a  temple  by  Pellegrini  is  a  porphyry  bath  of  the 
period  of  Theodoric  the  Goth,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  Rome  to  Ravenna,  and  then,  when  the  Duomo 
was  opened,  given  by  the  ruler  of  that  far-distant  city  as  a 
gift  to  the  new  Cathedral. 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE     59 

That  *  porphyry  bath  is  probably  the  oldest  thing  in  this 
Cathedral,  and  is  perhaps  even  earlier  than  the  fourth  century. 

Having  now  completed  the  round  of  the  church,  walk  up 
the  centre  to  the  choir,  trying  to  realise  as  you  go  the  vast 
height  of  the  building  and  the  ingenious  way  in  which,  as  I 
have  before  stated,  that  height  is  apparently  increased  by 
carrying  the  pillars  right  up  to  the  vaulted  roof.  Notice  the 
enormous  girth  of  the  columns,  especially  that  of  the  four 
that  support  the  cupola,  and  then  notice  that  upon  two  of 
these  largest  pillars  are  grand  bronze  pulpits  resting  upon 
huge  figures  of  the  Evangelists  (represented  by  their 
symbols)  and  the  Doctors  of  the  Church,  who  bend  forward 
in  order  to  adequately  support  the  structure  upon  them. 
The  idea  of  great  weight  is  admirably  conveyed  in  these 
figures.  You  can  almost  feel  the  strain  upon  the  shoulders, 
as  St.  Gregory,  for  example,  bends  under  the  burden  of  the 
pulpit,  and  the  artists  who  designed  these  two  pulpits, 
knowing  how  heavy  they  would  be,  have  with  great 
wisdom  conveyed  the  fact  to  you,  in  the  very  pose  of  the 
supporting  figures,  instead  of  ignoring  it,  and  setting  the 
figures  upright,  as  men  of  lesser  knowledge  would  have 
done. 

The  pulpits  were  suggested  by  the  saint,  San  Carlo 
Borromeo,  who  ruled  over  the  diocese  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  were  commenced  in  his  time  but  were  finished 
by  his  nephew.  Cardinal  Federigo  Borromeo,  who  desired  to 
complete  them  as  a  memorial  to  his  saintly  relative.  They 
are  the  work  of  Andrea  Pellizone,  and  are  covered  with 
reliefs,  which  are,  however,  almost  out  of  sight  owing  to 
the  darkness  of  the  building  and  the  great  height  that  is 
above  the  spectator.  If  you  go  down  into  the  crypt  under 
the  high  altar  you  will  find  the  shrine  of  the  saint  to 
whom  I  have  just  referred,  and  within  it  is  his  body  dressed 
in  his  pontifical  robes,  which  are  of  great  magnificence. 
The  shrine  was  the  gift  of  Philip  IV.  of  Spain  during  the 
time  when  the  Spaniards  held  dominion  over  Milan,  and  is 
'  a  very  rich  piece  of  silver-work.  All  around  the  chapel  are 
tablets  of  silver  representing  scenes  from  the  life  of  the 


6o  MILAN 

saint,  and  the  value  of  the  vestments  with  their  jewels  and 
of  all  the  profusion  of  silver  and  gold  in  the  shrine  is 
enormous,  but  the  light  is  so  poor  that  very  little  can  be 
seen,  and  unless  you  happen  to  be  in  Milan  in  Novem- 
ber during  the  octave  of  the  commemoration  of  the  saint 
when  the  entire  chapel  is  lit  up,  I  can  hardly  recommend 
you  to  pay  the  extra  fee  of  five  lire  that  is  demanded  in 
order  to  see  the  contents  of  this  very  gorgeous  little 
shrine. 

You  must,  however,  ere  you  leave  go  into  the  Sacristy, 
as  there  are  some  fine  things  preserved  in  it  that  you 
should  see. 

There  is  a  quite  lovely  ivory  cup  which  was  used  at  the 
coronation  of  the  Emperor  Otho  II.  in  978  ;  there  are  two 
interesting  ivory  panels  carved  with  scenes  from  the  history 
of  Our  Lord,  which  belong  to  the  Byzantine  period  of 
Roman  art,  and  have  curious  Greek  inscriptions  upon  them  ; 
there  is  a  very  lovely  *  Pax  with  exquisite  figures  upon  it, 
worked  by  the  celebrated  Milanese  artist,  Caradosso  ;  and. 
there  is  an  eighth-century  enamelled  cover  for  the  book  of 
the  Gospels  which  came  to  the  Cathedral  in  1018,  and  which 
to  students  of  such  work  is  of  the  greatest  importance. 
There  are  many  other  silver  and  gold  objects,  notably  some 
huge  statues  in  silver  belonging  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, to  which,  on  account  of  their  size  and  value,  the 
sacristan  attaches  immense  importance ;  but  I  have  named 
the  very  important  things  and  the  others  you  can  look  at  if 
you  like. 

I  do  not  expect  that,  unless  you  are  a  student  of  litur- 
giology  or  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  you  will  be 
greatly  interested  in  noticing  the  divergences  that  exist 
between  the  services  in  this  Cathedral  and  those  in  other 
churches  in  Italy,  but  it  is  well  for  me  to  mention  that  in 
Milan  there  are  certain  important  differences  in  the  ritual  of 
the  Mass  that  do  not  exist  elsewhere,  and  that  what  is 
termed  the  Ambrosian  rite  is  used  in  this  city  and  practi- 
cally is  found  in  use  nowhere  else  in  the  world.     It  is  an 


THE  SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE    6i 

earlier,  simpler,  sterner  rite  that  is  in  use  in  other  places, 
and  its  use  is  specially  permitted  on  account  of  the  attach- 
ment of  the  Milanese  people  to  what  is  to  them  a  national 
Liturgy.  In  doctrine  or  in  dogma  there  is  not  the  slightest 
divergence  between  the  Milanese  and  any  other  Catholic 
all  the  world  over,  but  in  ritual  there  are  differences. 
The  Ambrosian  Liturgy  is  said  to  have  been  compiled  by 
St.  Barnabas,  who,  according  to  tradition,  preached  in  Milan, 
and  very  special  importance  is  given  in  it  to  the  feast  of 
that  apostle.  It  has  several  Eastern  attributes,  and  belongs 
to  what  ecclesiologists  call  the  liturgical  school  of  Ephesus. 
One  of  its  chief  characteristics  is  the  insertion  of  an  extra 
reading  of  Scripture  in  addition  to  the  Gospel  and  Epistle, 
which  is  called  the  Prophetia,  and  is  taken  from  the  Old 
Testament.  There  is  also  a  curious  proclamation  of  silence 
made  by  the  deacon  before  the  Epistle,  a  lay  offering  of  the 
oblations,  some  unusual  Litanies,  an  addition  to  the  prayer 
of  Consecration,  which  closely  resembles  one  in  the  Greek 
rite,  many  extra  ceremonies  on  Palm  Sunday  and  at  Easter, 
which  also  are  to  be  found  in  the  Greek  Liturgy,  and  an 
entire  change  in  the  names  and  numbering  of  the  Sundays 
after  Pentecost  in  the  Kalendar.  The  music  is  sterner  and 
more  monotonous  than  is  usual  in  Catholic  churches,  and  no 
instrument  is  ever  permitted  save  the  organ,  while  there 
are  little  divergences  in  the  way  in  which  the  book  of 
the  Gospels  is  held,  and  in  the  shape  and  use  of  the  cen- 
sers, and  in  the  manner  in  which  the  altar  and  clergy  are 
censed. 

All  these  points  do  not  concern  the  faith  of  the  people, 
which  is  exactly  the  same  as  in  all  other  Catholic  countries, 
but  they  are  of  interest  in  being  survivals  of  a  very  early 
Christianity,  which  have  been  allowed  to  remain  in  deference 
to  the  desire  of  the  people,  and  because  they  do  not  affect 
any  doctrine,  but  only  practice,  which  is  always  allowed 
in  the  Church  to  have  its  own  national  characteristic  if 
the  people  so  desire. 

We  have  now  finished  our  examination  of  the  Duomo 


62  MILAN 

inside,  and  it  will  be  well  if  we  regard  the  building  from 
its  exterior. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  in  this  building  we  have 
not  the  result  of  one  uniform  style,  but  the  conjunction  of 
several,  and  the  work  of  many  generations.  All  the  great 
Lombards  had  their  work  in  connection  with  it,  giving  help 
in  the  way  of  design  or  suggestion,  and  the  work,  which 
was  often  stopped  and  interrupted,  was  continued  on  from 
1387  even  down  to  1S90. 

Pellegrini  was  to  have  built  the  west  front  in  1560,  but 
instead  he  went  to  Spain  to  work  at  the  Escurial,  and  his 
design  was  very  much  altered  by  those  who  followed  him. 
Napoleon  is  responsible  for  the  completion  of  the  present 
front,  as  he  pressed  on  the  work  and  ordered  the  sale  of 
some  extensive  property  that  had  belonged  to  the  Duomo  in 
order  to  defray  part  of  the  cost.  Suppressed  monastic 
institutions  provided  a  further  considerable  sum,  and  the 
balance  was  found  by  the  French  Government  of  the  time.  • 
The  Romanesque  windows  and  portals  destroy  the  purity 
of  the  Gothic  style  of  the  church  and  spoil  the  front,  but 
still  it  is  a  very  beautiful  building,  and  an  example  of 
the  richest  possible  and  most  florid  style  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture that  can  be  imagined — a  very  garden  of  pinnacles, 
turrets,  and  statues. 

We  shall  have  more  to  say  as  to  the  family  of  its  founder 
when  we  go  to  the  Certosa  of  Pavia  ;  but  I  want  now, 
ere  we  visit  the  Castello,  and  consider  the  work  of  the 
Sforza  family,  to  take  you  to  another  church  and  show  you 
the  tombs  of  a  great  family  who  occupy  an  intermediate 
position  in  the  history  of  Milan  between  the  Viscontis  and 
the  Sforzas. 

We  will  take  a  Porta  Romana  tram  and  ask  the  conductor 
to  set  us  down  at  the  Church  of  San  Nazaro,  which  stands 
close  to  the  street,  and  we  enter  at  once  the  vestibule  of 
the  church,  and  rest  for  a  while,  finding  more  to  see  there 
than  in  the  church  itself. 

We  have  in  this  plain  simple  building  the  **burial-place 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI  INFLUENCE     63 

of  the  Trivulzi  family,  and  I  want  you  to  appreciate  the 
solemn  and  impressive  dignity  of  the  place.  High  up  on 
the  walls,  right  away  out  of  reach  of  danger  or  of  injury, 
and  well  removed  from  the  people  who  enter  the  church, 
each  in  its  own  niche,  are  the  great  plain  tombs  of  this 
family,  who  in  the  fifteenth  century  took  so  important  a 
part  in  the  warfare  of  the  city.  The  founder  of  the  chapel 
was  Gian  .Giacomo,  Marquis  of  Vigevano,  who  was  con- 
cerned in  the  change  of  dynasty  after  the  death  of  Sforza 
when  for  a  time  France  had  the  supreme  command  in 
Milan,  ruling  from  151 5  to  1522,  as  I  have  already  said. 
For  a  time  it  seemed  as  though  by  his  help  the  Viscontis 
were  coming  in  again,  but  the  struggle  ended  in  France 
gaining  the  upper  hand  for  a  time  ;  and  then  later  on 
the  Sforza  family  again  gained  the  throne.  This  great 
warrior  built  this  chapel  and  placed  in  it  the  tomb  of 
his  father,  Antonio,  who  died  in  1453,  was  buried  in  it 
himself,  also  his  two  wives,  his  son  Niccolo,  with  his  wife 
and  his  three  children,  and  his  other  son  Francesco — 
eight  great  tombs  in  all,  as  the  three  children  occupy 
one  tomb  together.  You  will  gain  a  good  idea  of  the 
pride  of  these  great  families,  as  well  as  of  their  splendid 
ideas  of  what  was  sumptuous  and  stately,  by  looking  at 
this  chapel  with  its  array  of  sarcophagi,  each  with  its 
life-sized  figure  clad  in  the  costume  or  armour  of  the 
period,  solemnly  resting  high  up  above  your  heads,  and 
I  know  of  no  assemblage  of  tombs  in  Italy,  save  that 
at  Verona  of  the  Scaligeri,  that  produces  so  fine  an  effect 
of  solemn  grandeur  as  does  this  assemblage  of  Trivulzi 
tombs. 

The  church  itself,  which  as  you  are  at  its  doors  you  may 
as  well  enter,  does  not  possess  any  very  special  attractions, 
save  that  it  has  two  quite  fine  Flemish  windows,  which 
were  probably  a  gift  to  the  church  from  some  pious  bene- 
factor from  that  country,  and  seem  curiously  out  of  place 
in  an  Italian  church  ;  a  very  large  dull-coloured  powerful 
fresco  by  Lanini,  executed  in  1546,  and  representing  the  life 
of  St.  Catherine,  which  covers  nearly  the  whole  of  a  wall 


64  MILAN 

in  a  chapel  ;  and  a  curious  carved  reredos  in  wood,  which 
is  gilt,  and  which  represents  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 


Now  we  come  to  the  work  of  the  Sforza  family,  and 
must  make  our  way  to  their  home  and  fortress,  the 
Castello. 

Back  we  go  to  the  Duomo  and  take  a  Sempione  tram, 
and  get  out  at  the  newly  restored  Castello.  We  shall  walk 
across  the  open  ground  in  front  of  it,  enter  the  fortress 
gate,  pass  by  the  porter  without  entering  into  the  National 
Museum,  for  which  he  offers  us  tickets,  and  which,  having 
to  do  only  with  the  recent  life  of  Italy  as  a  nation  and 
with  Garibaldi  and  Victor  Emanuel,  has  no  interest  for 
us,  and  continue  on  under  another  gateway,  and  then  at 
the  right  pay  our  admission  fee  and  enter  the  Castello. 

The  original  building  on  this  site,  of  which  some  small 
portions  yet  remain,  was  erected  by  Filippo  Visconti,  but. 
was   destroyed   by   the   blind   fury  of   the  people    during 
the  brief  republic  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  which  lasted 
from  1447  to  1450. 

In  1452  Francesco  Sforza,  fourth  Duke  of  Milan,  com- 
menced to  rebuild  it  in  order,  as  he  stated,  to  ornament 
the  city,  but  really  to  overawe  its  people  and  provide  a 
place  of  security  for  himself  and  his  treasure,  and  the 
work  was  continued  by  his  successors  in  the  dukedom 
right  away  down  to  1536.  Each  ruler  in  succession  re- 
sided here,  and  each  made  alteration  and  additions  to 
the  buildings,  besides  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  artists  of 
the  time  to  decorate  its  walls  and  to  prepare  paintings, 
hangings,  and  furniture,  with  which  to  beautify  its  rooms. 
During  the  times  of  the  Spanish  and  French  dominion,  the 
Castello  was  treated  simply  as  a  fortress,  and  its  residential 
character  was  lost ;  and  then  after  the  time  of  Napoleon  it  was 
converted  into  barracks,  and  was  so  used  down  to  1893.  From 
that  year  commenced  the  new  history  of  the  building.  It 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Municipality  of  Milan,  and  a 
scheme  of  careful  restoration  was  at  once  set  on  foot.     The 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE     65 

most  learned  architects  and  antiquaries  of  the  time  were 
called  in  lu  examine  the  building,  and  to  decide  whether 
or  not  its  original  character  could  be  restored.  For  many 
years  the  process  has  been  going  on,  and  the  result  is  that  now, 
thanks  to  the  extreme  care  taken  in  the  work,  very  much 
of  the  original  building  is  to  be  seen,  and  we  can  realise 
what  sort  of  a  palace  it  was  in  the  time  when,  in  the  days 
of  Milan's  greatest  glory,  it  was  the  residence  of  Duke 
Ludovico  il  Moro  and  the  place  where  he  received  Leonardo 
da  Vinci  and  held  his  brilliant  court. 

Very  much  damage  had  been  done  to  the  Castello  during 
the  time  in  which  it  was  occupied  as  a  barracks,  and  white- 
wash had  covered  over  all  the  decoration  of  its  walls.  All 
the  useless  fortifications  have  now  been  removed,  the  old 
walls  have  been  made  up,  the  whitewash  has  been  re- 
moved, walls  have  been  cleaned,  staircases  and  doors  long 
ago  forgotten  and  covered  up  have  been  revealed ;  the 
original  plan  of  some  of  the  rooms,  altered  by  successive 
military  occupants  has  been  restored,  and  every  possible 
care  has  been  taken  in  the  work,  in  order  that  as  complete 
a  view  may  be  presented  to  the  spectator  of  the  arrangement 
of  the  original  palace,  and  of  the  appearance  of  the  rooms 
when  occupied  by  the  Sforzas. 

The  building  has  now  been  fitted  up  as  a  Museum,  and 
the  contents  of  the  old  Museo  Civico  have  been  brought 
into  its  rooms,  and  arranged  in  its  long  galleries,  making 
it  one  of  the  most  attractive  places  in  the  city.  The  con- 
tents also  of  the  Museo  Archaeologico  in  the  Brera  will 
be  found  here. 

I  am  not  proposing  to  take  you  all  round  this  Museum, 
as  to  do  so  would  need  a  great  deal  more  space  than  I  have 
at  my  command,  but  there  are  certain  things  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  city  that  1  want  you  specially  to 
notice,  and  so  these  I  will  mention  as  we  walk  together 
through  its  rooms.  The  first  contains  in  its  two  compart- 
ments objects  that  relate  to  the  pre-Roman  and  to  the 
Roman,  Greek,  and  Etruscan  periods.  They  refer  to  the 
whole   of  the   Northern  part  of  Italy  and  not  exclusively 

E 


66  MI  LA  N 

to  Milan,  and,  interesting  as  they  may  be  to  one  who  is 
making  a  special  study  of  that  period  of  history,  I  reconi 
mend  you  to  give  to  the  contents  of  the  glass  cases  only  a 
passing  attention,  and  to  devote  the  short  time  you  have 
to  objects  of  greater  general  interest. 

In  the  second  room  is  placed  mediaeval  sculpture  of 
a  period  earlier  than  the  fourteenth  century,  and  you  will  find 
many  fragments  of  carved  stone-work  and  of  mosaic  that 
have  belonged  to  ancient  churches  in  Milan  now  either 
altered  or  destroyed.  On  the  ceiling  of  the  third  room, 
you  will  find  the  first  piece  of  interesting  fresco  decoration. 
It  represents  the  Resurrection  of  Christ,  and  is  a  Milanese 
fresco,  belonging  to  the  later  half  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  in  the  lunette  are  to  be  seen  the  Sfurza  arms.  This 
room  was  a  chapel,  but  is  now  called  the  room  of  Balduccio 
da  Pisa,  on  account  of  the  fragments  of  his  work  which  it 
contains.  There  is  in  it  a  part  of  the  facade  of  the  Church 
of  Sta.  Maria  in  Brera,  which  he  carved  in  1347,  including 
statues,  bassi  relievi,  and  capitals. 

The  fourth  room  is  an  open  portico,  under  ^^•hich  stands 
the  *tomb  of  Barnaho  Visconti,  who  was  dethroned,  im- 
prisoned, and,  it  is  believed,  afterwards  killed  by  his  nephew, 
Gian  Galeazzo,  as  I  have  already  related  to  you.  This  fine 
tomb  used  to  stand  in  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni  in  Conca, 
which  has  now  been  destroyed,  and  was  brought  from  the 
church  to  the  Museo  Archa^ologico,  and  thence  has  been 
removed  to  its  present  position.  It  is  a  fine  equestrian 
statue,  the  work  of  Bonino  da  C^n-fione,  and  was  made  for 
the  duke,  during  his  lifetime.  He  is  represented  as  in 
full  armour,  and  below  the  figure  are  reliefs  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion, the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  and  a  Pieta  together 
with  figures  of  the  Doctors  of  the  Church.  Barnabo  was 
a  terrible  tyrant,  and  his  subjects  hailed  their  deliverance 
from  his  cruelty,  when  Gian  Galeazzo  attacked  and  im- 
prisoned him,  and  the  sculptor  has  ably  presented  the 
appearance  of  a  man  who  was  merciless  and  despotic.  All 
the  remaining  sculpture  in  this  portico  is  of  the  same 
period  as  this  fine  monument,  and  the  work  of  the  school 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE     67 

of  Campione.  The  tomb  of  Regina  della  Scala,  of  the 
celebrated  Verona  family,  the  wife  of  Barnabo,  was  probably 
by  Campione  himself,  but  the  remaining  tombs  and  statues 
are  the  work  of  pupils. 

Room  five  is  entered  from  this  portico,  and  this  apartment 
was  the  Ducal  Private  Chapel,  and  has  an  elaborate  fresco 
upon  its  ceiling.  The  representation  is  of  the  Resurrection 
of  Christ,  as  in  the  other  chapel,  and  with  it  the  Eternal 
Father  in  glory,  surrounded  with  angels.  The  arms  of 
the  Sforzas  also  appear  within  garlands,  and  the  initials 
of  Galeazzo  Maria  Sforza.  The  work  is  attributed  to  Stefano 
de  Fidelis,  Giovanni  Montorfano,  and  others,  who  were 
working  at  that  time  in  the  palace.  The  entrance  doorway 
of  the  Bentivoglio  Palace,  which  stood  close  to  the  de- 
molished church  of  San  Giovanni  in  Conca,  should  be 
noticed  as  when,  a  little  later,  we  come  to  look  at  the  Church 
of  San  Maurizio,  we  shall  consider  the  history  of  the 
Bentivoglio,  who,  when  exiled  from  Bologna,  came  to 
reside  in  Milan,  and  employed  Luini  to  decorate  the  church 
dedicated  to  St.  Maurice. 

The  seventh  room  has  a  splendid  blue  ceiling,  bearing 
upon  it  the  ducal  arms  and  the  initials  of  the  Duke 
Galeazzo  Maria,  GZ.MA.DX.  MLI.  QVINTVS. 

The  contents  of  this  room  belong  to  the  second  half 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  chief  piece  of  interest  is 
the  large  alto-relievo,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  the 
Sibyl  Tiburtina  announcing  to  Augustus  the  birth  of  Christ. 
It  is  an  original  work  of  Agostino  di  Duccio,  whose  best 
work  is  to  be  found  at  Perugia,  upon  the  fagade  of  the 
Church  of  San  Francesco.  The  relievo  was  brought  from 
near  Rimini,  from  a  place  called  Covignano,  and  although 
it  is  neither  Lombard  nor  relates  to  Milan,  yet  I  must 
ask  you  to  look  at  it,  as  it  is  a  very  fine  piece  of  work  by  a 
rare  artist.  A  medallion  will  be  found  in  the  same  room  re- 
presenting the  profile  of  Bianca  Maria  Visconti,  and  another 
oval  medallion  is  attributed  to  the  celebrated  Donatello. 

Room  number  eight  was  probably  decorated  specially 
for  Bona  di  Savoia,  the  wife  of  Galeazzo  Maria  Sforza,  as 


68  MILAN 

it  bears  her  special  emblem  repeated  all  over  its  walls. 
The  room  is  decorated  in  a  deep-red  colour,  with  a  diaper 
pattern  all  over  it  of  a  white  dove  with  radiating  flames, 
and  the  motto  "A  bon  droit."  It  contains  many  fine  pieces 
of  sculpture,  both  in  marble,  stone,  and  wood,  of  the  work 
of  Giovan  Antonio  Amadeo,  who  worked  in  1482,  and  of 
Christofero  .Solari,  whose  work  was  a  little  later  in  date,  say 
from  1490  to  1522,  and  of  their  pupils.  Of  Amadeo's  work, 
there  is  a  fine  circular  alto-relievo  representing  the  Nativity, 
originally  the  tomb  of  Santi  Mario,  Marta,  at  Cremona  ;  and 
of  Solari's  work,  there  is  a  figure  of  the  Flagellation,  which 
is  worthy  of  notice. 

The  ninth  room  contains  one  of  the  great  treasures  of 

the  collection,  the  main  portion  of  the  ■*tomb  of  Gaston  de 

Foix,  Governor  of  Milan,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 

Ravenna  in  15 12.     This  monument  was  the  finest  work  of 

the  great  sculptor,  Agostino  Busti,  called  il  Bambaja,  who 

flourished   between    1480  and    1548.     The   monument   was 

commissioned  by   Louis  XII.  of  France  when  he  was  in 

possession  of  Milan,  and  was  to  have  been  placed  in  the 

Church  of  Sta.  Marta  attached  to  an  Augustinian  monastery, 

where  actually  part  of  it  was  erected.    In  1522,  the  temporary 

dominion  of  the  French  came  to  an  end,  and  Francesco 

Sforza  regained   his   throne.       The    work   of  erecting   the 

monument    was    then    stopped,    and    it   was    never    really 

'*       completed,  as  the  church  was  soon  after  this  pulled  down, 

i^    its  frescoes  removed  to  the  Brera,  where  they  may  now 

i^       be  seen,  and  the  fine  tomb  broken  and  dispersed  in  various 

directions.     The  main  part,  this  exquisite   sleeping  figure 

of  a  brave  knight,  was   removed    to  the   Museum    in   the 

^       Brera,  whence  it  has  been  brought  into  its  present  position 

^       here  ;  smaller  portions  have  been  secured  from  other  collec- 

fN^tions,  and  placed  near  to  it,  while  yet  other  portions  still 

4j       remain  in  certain  private  collections.     It  is  interesting  to 

T    '  think  that  two   of  the  very   finest    recumbent   statues   in 

the  world  are   connected  with    Ravenna— this  one  of  the 

warrior  who  perished  near  to  the  city,  and  the  one,  even 

ki.      finer  still,  of  Guidorello  Guidorelli,  which  is  still  in  the 


THE   SFORZA    AND    VISCONTI   INFLUENCE     69 

Museum  at  Ravenna.  This  latter  is  one  of  the  v^ery  finest 
works  that  it  is  possible  to  conceive,  albeit  the  production 
of  an  unknown  sculptor,  or  if  belonging  to  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  attributed,  then  the  work  of  a  man  who  only 
produced  one  great  work  and  is  only  known  by  that.  The 
statue  of  Gaston  di  Foix,  is  worth  most  careful  examination, 
and  also  the  ornaments,  statuettes,  and  portions  of  friezes 
by  the  same  sculptor  that  are  near  it,  arranged  in  the  posi- 
tion they  once  occupied. 

A  youthful  work  of  the  same  sculptor  is  to  be  found  near  '^ 
by,   in    the   tomb  of  the  poet   Lancino  Curzio,  and  in  the    f 
centre  of  the  room  are  yet  other  works  by  Bambaja,  includ-    ? 
ing   an   exceedingly  fine    Flagellation  of  Christ  and  some 
splendid  pilasters.     In  the  same  room  is  the  tomb  of  Bishop 
Bagaroto,  the  work  of  Andrea  Fusina,  15 19,  from  another 
suppressed  church,  that  of  Sta.  Maria  della  Pace,  whilst  in 
the  second  half  of  the  room  are  some  later  works,  belonging 
to  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  period 
of  Sansovino  and  Michel  Angelo.     One  medallion  in  that 
part   of  the   room  must   not    be   overlooked,   that   of  the 
Madonna  and  Child,  the  work  of  Pierino  da  Vinci,  of  about 
1550,  a  work  of  surprising  merit  and  beauty. 

Lombard  terra-cotta  work  fills  the  tenth  room,  and  the 
use  made  of  this  material  in  architecture  is  well  exemplified 
in  the  collection  of  fragments  that  can  be  seen  and  studied 
in  the  room. 

We  now  go  outside  and  up  a  staircase,  and  enter  the  long 
galleries  that  occupy  the  upper  floor. 

There  is  not  very  much  that  need  occupy  your  atten- 
tion in  these  galleries  unless  you  have  plenty  of  time  to 
spare,  and  care  to  linger  in  front  of  the  cases.  I  do 
not  mean  that  they  are  not  interesting,  but  the  contents 
do  not  relate  to  the  purpose  of  this  book.  You  will 
find  a  good  collection  of  pottery,  much  of  which  is  local, 
and  some  very  fine  pieces  of  the  lustred  majolica  ware  of 
Gubbio  Deruta  and  Casteldurante.  You  will  see  some  fine 
enamels,  Venetian  glass,  carvings  in  wood,  some  important 


70  MILAN 

furniture,  bronzes,  hangings,  and  tapestry,  all  of  which  will 
enable  you  to  form  an  idea  as  to  the  appearance  of  the 
houses  of  the  Italian  noblemen  in  the  times  of  the  Renais- 
sance, but  to  describe  all  these  things  would  be  beyond  my 
purpose,  and  I  shall  leave  you  to  look  at  the  cases  by  your- 
self and  learn  all  you  can  from  the  labels  attached  to  each 
article. 

In  some  ways  the  most  important  room,  except  the  picture 
gallery,  is  the  one  lettered  G,  in  which  is  arranged  a  collec- 
tion of  drawings,  paintings,  maps,  and  printed  papers  re- 
lating to  the  past  history  of  the  town,  and  in  this  room  you 
can  spend  some  useful  time.  Omit  altogether  the  room 
lettered  F,  as  the  modern  paintings  that  it  contains  are  not 
worth  your  consideration,  and  you  will  only  waste  time 
looking  at  the  enormities  that  the  present  Italian  painter  is 
able  to  produce. 

Finally,  we  come  to  the  last  room,  the  Picture  Gallery,  but 
before  you  enter  it,  as  you  have  not  yet  seen  any  pictures  in 
Milan,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  sit  down  on  one  of  the  seats 
in  an  adjacent  room,  or  just  inside  the  picture  gallery,  and 
read  the  few  remarks  that  I  want  to  make  about  the  Lom- 
bard school  of  paintings.  Bear  in  mind,  please,  that  it  is 
only  by  reason  of  the  exigencies  of  circumstances  that  you 
begin  your  study  of  Lombard  art  in  this  room.  It  is  not 
at  all  a  good  place  in  which  to  begin,  and  if  you  take  my 
advice  you  will  not  do  so,  but  will  retrace  your  steps  down 
the  gallery  without  entering  the  room  at  all,  and  begin  your 
study  with  me  in  the  Poldi-Pezzoli  gallery  or  in  the  Brera, 
but  if  you  are  really  pressed  for  time  and  feel  that  you 
cannot  afford  the  time  to  return  to  this  gallery  again,  or  do 
not  want  to  spend  another  lira  now  that  you  are  in  the 
gallery,  then  you  must  enter  the  room,  but  do,  please,  pay 
me  the  compliment  of  first  reading  what  I  have  to  say  as  to 
the  art  of  Milan  and  of  the  district  around  the  city. 


MILANESE   ART  Jt 


,     Z>.  MILANESE  ART 

The  Lombard  school  of  art  really  begins  with  Vincenzo 
Foppa,  although  it  is  possible  that  he  had  studied  at  Padua 
under  Squarcione.  When  we  come  to  Padua,  we  shall  see 
one  of  the  only  two  pictures  which  it  is  absolutely  certain 
Squarcione  painted,  and  which  marks  the  commencement 
of  an  era. 

We  need  not  go  any  further  back  than  Squarcione,  who 
was  born  in  1394,  and  whence  he  obtained  his  inspiration 
we  cannot  tell.  He  stands  out  as  one  of  those  founders  of 
a  school,  one  of  those  great  leaders,  who  were  an  originat- 
ing force,  a  living  inspiration,  and  from  his  influence  came 
not  only  the  school  of  Padua,  but  also  indirectly  that  of 
Milan. 

Squarcione  appears  to  have  been  a  traveller,  and  to  have 
journeyed  through  Italy  and  Greece,  studying  the  methods 
and  works  of  the  ancient  masters,  and  accumulating  a  large 
collection,  not  onh-  of  drawings  and  studies  from  the  antique, 
but  also  of  casts  and  of  original  works.  He  appears  to  have 
thoroughly  embued  himself  with  a  love  of  the  antique,  a 
passion  for  Greek  and  Roman  sculpture,  and  to  have  had  a 
strong  opinion  that  the  only  right  foundation  for  the  study 
of  art  was  to  base  it  upon  a  knowledge  of  ancient  sculpture. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Padua  after  his  wanderings,  and 
believing  that  even  if  he  could  not  himself  paint  as  he 
desired,  he  could  teach  others  who  were  more  gifted  than  he 
was,  to  do  so,  he  opened  a  school,  and  is  said  to  have  quickly 
gathered  around  him  over  one  hundred  pupils. 

From  the  very  first  the  influence  was  that  of  antique 
sculpture,  and  hence  the  hardness  of  outline,  the  sternness 
of  treatment,  the  classic  beauty,  the  love  of  detail,  and  the 
straining  after  a  fuller  knowledge  of  the  art  of  perspective 
that  characterised  the  early  work  of  the  school.  Greek 
beauty  was  the  ideal,  and  a  true  representation  of  the  human 
form  was  what  was  aimed  at.  From  this  school,  whose 
special  features  we  shall  have  to  more  carefully  consider 


72  MILAN 

when  we  come  to  Padua,  arose  those  important  artists, 
Mantegna  and  the  BelHni,  great  creative  minds  whose  works 
take  the  highest  rank. 

From  it  also  arose  the  Milanese  school,  but  in  this  case 
there  was  another  influence  that  has  to  be  considered,  that 
of  Pisanello.  From  him  comes  the  quality  that  belongs  to 
the  illuminator,  to  one  accustomed  to  the  fine  minute  work 
of  the  artist  who  painted  miniatures  upon  vellum,  and  was 
employed  to  decorate  the  books  of  devotion  for  the  religious 
houses,  and  from  him  also  comes  the  broader  treatment  of 
detail  that  belongs  to  the  medallist,  as  it  was  in  that  branch 
of  art  that  Pisanello  was  most  celebrated.  From  these 
diverse  influences,  therefore,  sprang  the  Milanese  school. 
It  seems  likely  that  Foppawas  an  actual  pupil  of  Squarcione, 
but  he  resided  in  the  district  of  Brescia,  which  was  full  of  the 
influence  of  Pisanello  ;  and  as  his  work  has  some  affinity  with 
that  of  Bono,  who  certainly  worked  with  the  other  pupils  of 
Squarcione  in  the  Eremitani  chapels  in  Padua,  and  who  yet 
signed  himself  as  a  pupil  of  Pisanello,  we  take  it  that  these 
two  men,  Foppa  and  Bono,  worked  together  for  a  time. 
Foppa's  work  is  clear,  well  defined,  and  full  of  sharp  detail. 
His  figures  are  somewhat  crowded,  but  on  the  whole  well 
arranged  ;  his  love  of  detail,  jewellery,  and  fine  clothing  is 
very  evident  ;  and  his  colouring,  although  somewhat  pallid,  is 
rich  and  subdued.  Side  by  side  with  Foppa  at  the  head  of 
the  Milanese  school  comes  another  man — Zenale,  who  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  pupil  of  Foppa's  as  was  at  one 
time  supposed,  but  an  independent  worker,  who  derived  more 
from  the  teaching  of  Pisanello  than  did  Foppa,  and  who  ob- 
tained practically  nothing  from  Squarcione  and  the  Paduans. 
Buttinone  was  an  artist  who  worked  with  Zenale  and 
many  of  the  works  attributed  to  the  former  master  are  the 
joint  production  of  these  two  friends,  Buttinone's  work 
being  marked,  as  has  been  well  said,  "  by  an  austerity  and 
dryness  from  which  the  suaver  Zenale  is  free."  Following 
Foppa  came  a  number  of  other  artists  who  belong  to  his 
school  and  derived  their  art  more  or  less  from  him.  Foppa's 
own  work  we  shall  see  in  the  Brera,  Zenale's  in  a  chapel  in 


MILANESE   ART  73 

Sta.  Maria  della  Grazie,  Buttinone's  in  the  Breia.  Montor- 
fano,  Bevilacqua,  and  Civerchio  are  followers  of  the  same 
school,  and  all  of  them  can  be  studied  in  Milan.  Montorfano 
was  the  painter  of  the  vast  Crucifixion  that  we  shall  see  in 
Sta.  Maria  della  Grazie  opposite  to  the  Cenacolo  of  Leonardo. 
Bevilacqua  will  be  found  in  the  Brera,  where  a  Madonna 
and  Saints,  dated  1 502,  is  to  be  seen,  and  this  same  gallery 
contains  the  work  of  Civerchio.  A  far  greater  man,  how- 
ever, than  either  of  these  was  Ambrogio  da  Fossano,  called 
*  *  Borgognone,  who  is  perhaps  the  most  typical  of  all  the 
Milanese  school,  and  whose  influence  is  marked  upon  all 
who  succeeded  him.  His  aim  was  a  very  high  one  and  his 
singleness  of  purpose  very  striking.  Never  on  any  occasion 
did  he  paint  a  secular  subject,  always  confining  his  energies 
to  sacred  story.  He  painted  more  than  thirty  Madonna 
pictures  and  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin  four  times.  St. 
Ambrose,  the  Bishop  and  Patron  of  Milan,  is  to  be  constantly 
found  in  his  pictures,  and  the  whole  character  and  aspect  of 
his  work  is  one  of  profound  devotion.  The  abnormal  pallor 
of  the  faces  is  a  distinctive  mark  of  his  work,  especially  at 
the  beginning  of  his  career,  but  in  contrast  to  this  is  to  be 
noticed  the  extreme  brilliancy  of  the  carpets  and  draperies 
that  he  uses  to  foil  the  greyness  of  the  faces.  He  was  a 
prolific  worker,  and  his  pictures  will  be  found  to  constitute 
one  of  the  features  of  the  Milanese  galleries,  and  can  be 
readily  distinguished  as  his  work  is  so  very  different  from 
that  of  any  other  of  his  contemporaries.  He  was  not  only 
a  painter  but  an  architect,  and  his  work  is  to  be  found 
in  designs  for  glass  windows,  intarsia  work  in  choir  stalls, 
and  in  many  of  the  architectural  features  of  the  Certosa 
of  Pavia,  which  is  a  perfect  museum  of  his  work.  Bramantino 
was  another  pupil  of  Foppa's,  but  derived  more  important 
instruction  from  Bramante,  the  architect,  from  whom  also  he 
took  his  sobriquet.  He  is  better  known  in  Milan  by  his 
work  in  fresco  than  by  his  paintings,  and  when  we  come  to 
examine  the  early  fresco-work  in  the  Brera  we  shall  dis- 
tmguish  much  that  is  the  work  of  his  brush.  He  was  also 
a  portrait-painter  and  in  that  capacity  is  known  in  England 


74  MILAN 

by  reason  of  a  fine  series  of  heads  belonging  to  Mr.  Willett, 
which  originally  formed  part  of  a  frieze,  and  which  are  set  in 
a  characteristic  architectural  background. 

**  Leonardo  da  Vinci  must,  of  course,  be  mentioned  in 
any  review  of  the  work  of  the  Milanese  school,  although  he 
was  a  Florentine  and  his  art  belongs  to  that  school.  It  was 
only  by  an  accident,  so  to  speak,  that  he  passed  twenty-five 
years  of  his  life  in  Milan  and  influenced  so  profoundly  the 
local  school  and  modified  its  development  ;  but  inasmuch  as 
his  name  is  so  associated  with  the  history  of  the  city  and 
his  greatest  work,  or  what  remains  of  it,  is  in  Milan,  he  must 
not  be  overlooked  in  this  summary.  The  influence  of 
Leonardo  is  the  crucial  point  in  the  study  of  Milanese  art. 
Certain  of  the  Milanese  school  fell  entirely  under  his  influ- 
ence, accepted  him  as  their  teacher,  and  merged  their  own 
identity  in  his,  taking  their  place  simply  as  his  pupils  and 
followers,  and  so  fully  adopting  his  methods  and  ideas  as  to 
become  Vincians  rather  than  Milanese.  Of  this  group  we 
may  mention  Boltraffio,  Cesare  da  Sesto,  Marco  d'Oggiono. 
and  Gianpetrino.  All  these  men  were  such  close  students 
of  Leonardo  as  to  absorb  his  style  and  to  make  use  of  his 
little  devices  in  such  a  manner  that  their  work  is  being  con- 
stantly confused  with  his,  and  also  the  productions  of  each 
man  with  those  of  his  companions. 

As  a  contrast  to  this  group  there  is  another  one  which  con- 
tains the  names  of  artists  who,  at  one  period  of  their  work, 
fell  under  the  Leonardo  influence,  and  who  for  a  time  adopted 
his  teaching  and  used  his  characteristic  features  and  methods, 
but  who  possessed  such  strong  personal  character  that  they 
were  able  to  pass  out  from  the  Vincian  influence,  reassert 
their  own  positions,  and  take  the  place  in  art  for  which  their 
own  qualifications  had  fitted  them.  In  this  group  we  may 
place  not  only  those  already  named,  as  Zenale,  Borgognone, 
and  Brarnantino,  but  the  greater  individualists  of  the  school^ 
Luini,  Sodoma,  Solario,  and  Gaudenzio  Ferrari.  Foppa 
alone  stands  quite  outside  the  Leonardo  influence  as  it 
appears  to  have  flowed  all  around  him  without  touching 
him  in  the  very  least. 


MILANESE    ART  75 

The  gigantic  power  of  Leonardo,  his  restless  activity,  his 
tremendous  and  most  varied  genius,  and  the  support  that  he 
received  in  the  highest  quarters,  could  not  fail  to  have  an 
influence  upon  Milan  and  its  art.  We  do  not  learn,  how- 
ever, that  Leonardo  ever  had  a  studio  or  bottega  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  nor  is  it  very  likely  that  he  would 
have  given  to  such  training  the  needful  time  or  patience,  but 
his  works  influenced  everybody.  They  became  the  rage 
and  the  fashion,  and  to  be  Leonardesque  was  to  be  popular 
in  those  days.  This  is  not  the  place  into  which  to  enter 
upon  an  account  of  the  master  or  his  works  ;  all  that  can 
be  found  in  other  books.  But  we  shall  be  interested  as 
we  wander  through  the  galleries  of  Milan  to  notice  how  the 
Leonardo  face  is  to  be  seen  in  the  works  of  other  men, 
how  the  long  "greyhound"  eyes  and  mouth  were  adopted 
by  other  men,  and  how  constantly  the  grouping  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  figures  is  that  first  suggested  by  da  Vinci  and 
copied,  varied,  and  modified  by  his  followers.  If  we  have 
time  it  is  even  of  greater  interest  to  take  one  particular 
painter,  such  as  Luini  for  example,  and  to  notice  how  in  his 
early  work  he  uas  influenced  by  Borgognone,  Bramantino, 
and  Foppa,  how  he  gradually  fell  under  the  power  of  Leo- 
nardo and  was  lessoned  in  his  ways,  and  how  gradually  he 
allowed  his  own  spirit  to  have  its  full  play  and  his  own 
individuality  to  exert  itself,  so  that  eventually  he  cut  him- 
self adrift  from  the  da  Vinci  influence  and  stood  out  in  his 
own  proper  position  as  an  original  artist  of  great  merit. 
This  line  of  thought  I  have  tried  to  adopt  in  my  book  on 
Luini,  and  to  that  I  must  refer  you  for  a  full  account  of  this- 
works  of  th^  artist  who  more  than  any  other  has  left  his 
mark  upon  Milan. 

Leonardo  is  naturally  the  chief  attraction  in  the  world  of 
pictures  in  Milan,  and  his  Cenacolo  stands  out  as  one  of 
the  world's  masterpieces — wonderful  and  sublime,  full  of 
pathos,  and  as  an  original  conception  unequalled  ;  but  Luini 
is  pre-eminently  the  Milanese  painter,  and  in  Milan  ii 
is  to  his  works  that  we  ought  to  give  the  lion's  share  of 
attention. 


76  MILAN 

Sodoma  fell  under  the  Leonardo  influence  for  a  short 
thne  ;  but  he  soon  passed  away  to  Florentine  influence,  and 
eventually  settled  down  as  a  Siennese  painter,  so  that  his 
work  need  not  greatly  concern  us  in  Milan.  Solario  will 
be  chiefly  known  to  us  by  his  portraits  and  by  an  important 
picture  in  the  Poldi  gallery,  but  with  him  there  was  not  the 
complete  Milanese  quality,  as  Venetian  teaching  entered 
into  his  art,  and  he  was  also  influenced  by  what  he  saw 
when  he  went  into  France  to  paint  at  Gaillon. 

Gaudenzio  Ferrari  and  Luini  are  the  most  entirely 
Milanese  painters  after  the  days  of  Foppa  and  Borgognone, 
and  to  them  it  will  be  well  to  give  our  best  attention. 
Gaudenzio  I  have  elsewhere  called  the  Rubens  of  Milan,  on 
account  of  his  fondness  for  strength  of  limb,  and  round- 
ness of  flesh,  and  of  the  fieriness  of  his  colour.  He  is  an 
exuberant  painter,  dramatic  and  powerful,  and  he  loved  scenes 
of  movement  and  those  in  which  the  strength  of  the  body 
could  be  well  set  forth.  Luini,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  lyric 
painter,  never  dramatic,  never  heroic.  His  work  is  marked 
by  tenderness,  devotion,  simplicity,  childlike  religious  sym- 
pathy, and  all  his  pictures  are  serious,  calm,  and  serene. 

The  dominant  features  perhaps  of  all  Milanese  art  were 
first,  their'  seriousness,  their  religion,  their  tenderness,  and 
secondly,  thevF  high  finish  coupled  with  the  love  of  elabo- 
ration and  "  the  patient  rendering  of  detail "  that  was  inborn 
in  a  Lombard  painter.  Great  originality  will  not  be  found 
in  the  pictures  of  this  school.  The  Lombards  were  not 
men  of  e.xuberant  imagination,  and  with  the  e.xception  of 
Gaudenzio,  seldom  aimed  at  the  heights  of  fancy  or  dramatic 
composition.  They  are  to  a  man  painters  of  religious  scenes, 
very  slightly  concerned  with  the  classics,  and  allowing  the 
humanistic  movement  to  pass  on  over  their  heads.  They  are 
rich,  deep,  and  delicate  colourists,  not  great  at  dense  effects 
of  shadow,  not  great  in  gorgeous  colour  ;  Solario  alone  by 
reason  of  his  Venetian  commissions  attaining  to  grandeur 
in  colour  ;  but  their  work  is  always  impressive,  able  "  to 
create  a  mood,"  and  distinguished  by  great  thoughtfulness 
and  tender  religious  conscientiousness. 


MILANESE   ART  77 

Now  that  you  have  read  these  few  words  which  are  by 
way  of  introduction  .to  the  study  of  Milanese  art,  I  will 
allow  you  to  enter  into  this  final  room  in  the  Castello,  only 
repeating  my  advice  given  you  a  few  lines  back  that  you  will 
do  well  to  leave  it  until  you  have  been  to  the  Brera  and 
have  seen  more  pictures,  and  that  then  you  will  the  better 
appreciate  what  you  will  find  in  this  gallery.  You  will  see 
in  this  room  a  good  example  of  Foppa!s  work  distinguished 
by  his  curious  hardness,  his  clearness  of  outline,  and  his 
sculpturesque  effect.  You  will  find  the  head  of  a  man  by 
Borgogtio/ie,  with  the  pallid  face  of  which  I  have  spoken,  a 
Gianpelrino  full  of  Leonardo  influence,  and  a  very  interesting 
Sodoma  of  an  archangel  ;  but  the  remaining  pictures  will 
only  unsettle  you  in  giving  a  survey  of  Lombard  art,  as  they 
belong  to  quite  other  schools.  There  are  good  examples 
of  men  so  different  as  Crivelli,  Vandyck,  Correggio,  and 
Tintoretto  ;  and  I  shall  not  take  you  round  the  gallery  more 
than  to  point  out  the  half-a-dozen  Milanese  pictures  that  are 
just  inside,  as  the  others  which  are  fine  of  their  kind  you 
can  study  without  me,  and  you  will  find  them  all  out  by 
their  labels,  and  are  welcome  to  spend  as  much  time  as  you 
like  in  looking  at  them. 

Having  now  finished  the  Castello,  let  us  begin  to  study 
the  art  of  Milan,  and  although  it  is  somewhat  Irish  to  adopt 
such  a  course,  let  us  begin  by  looking  at  the  picture  which 
I  have  already  told  you  does  7iot  belong  to  the  Milanese 
school  at  all. 

A  walk  of  three  minutes  takes  us  from  the  Castello  into 
the  Corso  Magenta,  and  to  the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria 
della  Grazie. 

Ere  we  go  in,  the  building  of  the  church  is  worth  attention. 
It  is  a  good  piece  of  Lombard  work,  and  the  west  front, 
with  its  brick  and  terra-cotta  work,  is  worth  attention. 
The  feature  of  the  building  is,  however,  the  cupola,  which 
is  the  work  of  Bramante,  and  is  marvellously  fine  with  its 
mingling  of  red  brick  and  marble  in  the  rows  of  windows 
beneath  an  open  arcade. 


78  AULA  N 

The  ^^Cenacolo  of  Leonardo  is  in  a  separate  building, 
the  Refector}',  into  which  you  go  by  a  separate  door,  over 
which  you  will  see  the  word  "  Cenacolo,"  and  at  which  you 
will  pay  your  lira,  unless  you  possess  the  pass  which  is 
granted  to  artists  by  the  Syndic  of  Milan  if  they  are  staying 
in  the  city  and  desire  to  paint  in  the  galleries.  At  the  end 
of  the  long  room  is  all  that  remains  of  the  great  fresco. 
There  is  hardly  anything  left  of  the  original  work. 

The  plaster  has  flaked,  the  Refectory  has  been  flooded 
over  and  over  again,  the  smoke  of  the  adjacent  kitchen 
when  the  Refectory  was  in  use  has  injured  the  fresco, 
restorers  have  worked  their  wicked  will  upon  it,  the  friars 
have  cut  part  of  it  away,  the  French  have  used  the  room 
as  a  stable  and  afterwards  as  a  hay  store  I  E^•erything  has, 
in  fact,  been  done  from  as  early  as  1500  to  injui'e  that  great 
work,  and  yet,  despite  it  all,  there  is  still  a  wondrous  beauty 
about  it,  and  as  you  sit  down  in  front  of  the  great  ruin, 
you  will  not  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  sublime  conception 
that  is  before  you. 

It  is,  indeed,  most  unfortunate  that  Leonardo  adopted 
a  new  method  in  the  production  of  this  picture,  in  his  eager 
desire  to  try  experiments  both  with  pigments  and  with 
vehicles.  Unable  to  work  with  the  rapidity  and  determina- 
tion that  painting  in  true  fresco  demanded  by  reason  of 
the  speed  with  which  it  dried,  or  else  anxious  to  labour  slowly 
with  the  utmost  care  and  patience  at  a  ^^•ork  which  required 
all  his  attention,  he  discarded  the  customary  methods  of 
fresco,  and,  painting  in  oil  upon  a  ground  of  plaster  prepared 
with  a  priming  of  white  lead,  he  adopted  a  method  which 
speedily  proved  the  ruin  of  the  picture.  From  the  very 
earliest  times  it  began  to  suffer  by  reason  of  the  oil  colour 
flaking  off  from  the  plaster,  and  the  catastrophes  that 
followed  but  completed  the  disaster  that  had  begun  during 
the  artist's  own  life. 

There  is  hardly  a  square  inch  that  now  remains  of 
Leonardo's  own  work,  and  perhaps  a  portion  of  the  table 
close  to  the  central  figure,  and  a  small  portion  of  the  face 
of  the  Christ  are  the  chief  pieces  that  are  left  in  anything 


MILANESE   ART  79 

like  original  condition.  These  parts  bear  a  greater  amount 
of  finish  than  the  rest  of  the  work,  and  more  closely  re- 
semble in  technique  the  oil  paintings  that  still  remain  of 
Leonardo's  work.  There  is,  however,  left  the  general  scheme 
of  the  picture,  and  many  of  the  heads  are  of  great  dignity 
notwithstanding  the  constant  restoration  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected.  The  conception  was  one  of  great  beauty, 
and  the  original  work  when  first  completed  must  have  been  . 
a  triumph  of  skill  and  a  marvel  of  pathos.  Now  it  is  but 
a  ruin,  and  we  can  only  tell  what  it  was  like  by  regarding 
the  contemporary  copies  made  by  the  pupils  of  the  master, 
Solario  and  Marco  dOggiono,  which  are  in  the  same  room. 
The  fresco  on  the  opposite  wall  is  by  Montorfano,  and  is 
dated  1495,  but  two  figures  in  it — those  of  il  Moro  and 
Bianca  Maria  his  wife,  which  the  custode  will  point  out 
to  you — were  the  work  of  Leonardo  himself,  and  are  quite 
readily  to  be  distinguished  in  technique  from  the  rest. 

Montorfano  was  a  pupil  of  Foppa,  and  the  Paduan  in- 
fluence can  be  seen  in  this  his  greatest  M-ork. 

We  shall  see  in  the  Brera  presently  the  sketch  for 
the  head  of  Christ  in  the  Cenacolo  by  Leonardo,  and  be 
able  to  realise  from  that  how  lovely  the  central  head  must 
have  been  when  first  it  was  painted. 

As  you  are  so  close  to  the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  della 
Grazie,  you  will  no  doubt  desire,  when  you  have  examined 
the  Cenacolo,  to  enter  the  church.  I  cannot  honestly  advise 
you  to  spend  a  very  long  time  in  the  Refectory,  as  there 
is  so  little  to  be  seen  of  Leonardo's  work,  that  beyond 
an  impression  of  emotion  and  beauty  j'ou  have  little  to 
gain.  You  will  realise,  no  doubt,  the  fine  harmony  of  the 
group,  and  the  way  in  which  all  the  figures  are  held 
together  by  the  dismay  that  is  common  to  all.  You  will 
appreciate  the  grand  simplicity  of  the  composition,  the 
varying  emotions  of  the  apostles,  the  serene  dignity  of 
the  Christ,  and  as  you  have  no  doubt  been  familiar  all 
your  life  with  reproductions  of  the  work,  you  will  be 
able  to  identify  the  figure  of  each  apostle.     Of  the  artistic 


8o  MILA  N 

value,  of  the  pictorial  quality,  of  the  technique,  or  of  the 
colour,  you  can  now  gain  no  idea  ;  and  the  only  object  in 
remaining  long  in  the  room  is  to  allow  quiet  meditation 
to  create  in  your  mind  that  emotion  that  the  artist  desired 
should  arise,  of  the  dismay  and  astonishment  of  the  little 
band,  and  of  the  calm  resignation  of  the  Christ  Himself 

Lea\ing  then  the  Refectory,  we  make  our  way  into 
the  church.  There  are  but  two  things  that  deserve 
your  attention  within  the  building.  In  the  fourth  chapel 
on  the  i?.  there  are  some  grand  *frescoes  by  G-audenzio 
Ferrari,  which  will  perhaps  help  you  to  understand  why 
I  have  called  him  the  Rubens  of  Italy.  They  are  full  of 
strong,  powerful  work,  almost  fiery  in  colour,  and  evidently 
the  work  of  a  man  who  gloried  in  painting  flesh,  limbs, 
muscles,  and  was  full  oi  exuberant  fancy,  and  delighted 
in  representing  movement.  Much  of  the  work  is  really 
fine,  and  it  is  evident  that  in  these  frescoes  Gaudenzio 
Ferrari  put  out  his  utmost  skill.  We  are  told,  but  there 
is  not  very  much  foundation  for  the  story,  that  this  chapel 
was  painted  in  competition  with  Titian,  as  if  the  work  in 
the  chapel  had  been  approved,  the  artist  was  to  have  the 
commission  for  the  altar-piece  for  the  same  church,  but 
that  the  work  of  Titian  was  preferred,  and  the  Crucifixion 
now  in  the  Louvre  was  painted  for  this  church.  There 
is  grave  reason  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  this  story,  but 
whatever  was  the  reason,  it  is  quite  clear  that  in  this 
frescoed  chapel  we  have  Gaudenzio  at  his  very  best.  Now 
cross  over  the  church  and  enter  the  dark  chapel  in  the 
L.  aisle  close  up  to  the  altar  rails,  and  in  it  you  will  find 
a  much  damaged  fresco  by  Zenale,  with  many  portraits 
of  the  donor's  family  in  it.  This  fresco,  although  dry  and 
hard  and  somewhat  uninteresting,  will  show  the  fondness 
for  profile  portraits  which  is  a  mark  of  the  work  of  Zenale, 
and  which  is  doubtless  derived  from  the  work  of  Pisanello 
in  the  medallic  art. 

You  can  leave  the  church  by  a  door  close  to  this  chapel 
which  will  take  you  round  at  the  back  of  the  choir  and  out 


MILANESE   ART  8i 

into  an  entry  where  you  will  probably  find  a  woman  sit- 
ting at  work  or  some  children  at  play.  Ask  them  for 
the  custode  of  the  Old  Sacristy,  and  he  will  take  you 
across  the  little  square  entry  to  the  room  which  you 
seek  and  which  is  always  locked  up.  In  this  sacristy 
you  will  find  a  very  curious  series  of  paintings  on  the 
cupboards  all  around  the  room  and  these  are  worth  your 
inspection. 

They  are  no^  the  work  of  Luini,  although  your  guide  will 
probably  assure  you  that  they  are,  but  at  the  same  time 
they  are  of  his  period,  and  they  illustrate  the  work  of  some 
unknown  man  who  must  have  had  a  genius  for  decoration 
of  a  very  high  order.  The  panels  are  all  painted  in  imitation 
of  intarsia  work,  and  although  the  idea  is  not  good  and  is 
contrary  to  the  canons  of  art,  yet  there  is  such  a  wealth  of 
design  in  them  and  the  execution  is  so  clever  that  it  is 
well  for  you  to  see  them.  The  room  is  in  very  bad  order 
and  the  cupboards  have  been  much  injured  by  weather  and 
wet,  but  you  will  not  regret  spending  a  short  time  in  ex- 
amining them,  and  be  amused  at  the  quaint  animals  and 
figures  that  are  contained  in  the  designs. 

We  will  now  come  out  into  the  Corso  Magenta  and, 
leaving  the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  della  Grazie  behind  us, 
I  want  you  to  walk  down  the  street  for  a  few  minutes  and 
stop  at  the  **  Church  of  San  Maurizio  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  way. 

In  this  church  you  will  find  the  best  work  of  Luini  that  is 
to  be  seen  in  Milan,  and  there  is  an  interesting  history 
connected  with  its  decoration.  In  the  neighbouring  state 
of  Bologna  there  was  in  1462  a  great  ruler  known  as 
Griovanni  Bentivoglio.  He  was  the  representative  of  the 
Holy  See  in  that  district  and  was  supposed  to  rule  for 
the  Pope,  but  he  had  made  himself  practically  master  of 
the  state  and  city  of  Bologna  and  ruled  with  a  stern  sway 
as  though  it  was  his  own  kingdom.  He  was  a  great  patron 
of  the  Fine  Arts,  and  adorned  the  city  with  many  sump- 
tuous buildings  and  decorated  them  with  the  finest  works 


82  MILAN 

of  the  Bolognese  painters.  In  1506  the  Pope,  Julius  II., 
determined  to  take  over  the  control  of  the  Patrimony  of 
St.  Peter  into  his  own  hands  and  rid  himself  of  the  powerful 
Governors  who  had  assumed  regal  state.  He  proceeded 
against  Bologna,  captured  the  city  and  drove  out  Benti- 
voglio,  who  fled  to  Milan.  Bentivoglio  had  married  a  Sforza 
and  hence  claimed  protection  at  the  hands  of  the  ruler  of 
Milan,  who  allotted  to  him  the  palace  that  stood  near  to 
San  Giovanni-in-Conca  the  entrance  portal  to  which  we  have 
just  seen  at  the  Castello.  Bentivoglio  died  in  Milan  and 
was  buried  in  the  church  in  which  we  now  stand.  His  son 
Alessandro  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  absent  in  France, 
pleading  his  father's  cause  before  the  French  king,  and 
begging  for  help  to  enable  him  to  regain  possession  of 
Bologna.  He  could  not  however  obtain  any  material  help, 
as  the  friendship  of  Pope  Julius  II.  was  at  that  moment  more 
important  to  the  king  and  to  the  Emperor  than  anything 
else,  and  so  Alessandro  returned  to  Milan.  He  had  married 
Ippolita  Sforza  and  they  had  one  daughter,  who  entered  the 
convent  of  nuns  attached  to  the  Church  of  San  Maurizio 
and  took  the  veil  in  that  church.  Alessandro  Bentivoglio 
and  his  wife,  desiring  to  adorn  the  church  with  which  their 
only  child  was  connected  and  which  contained  the  tomb 
of  their  father  and  in  which  they  themselves  expected  to 
be  buried,  employed  Luini,  who  was  at  that  time  at  the 
very  zenith  of  his  fame,  to  carry  out  the  series  of  frescoes 
that  are  before  us,  and  the  commission  was  a  notable  one 
and  well  did  Luini  carry  it  out.  The  frescoes  cover  the 
screen  or  eastern  wall  of  the  church.  The  altar-piece  is  not 
his  work,  but  it  extends  on  either  side  of  it  and  above  it 
right  up  to  the  baldacchino  and  crucifix.  On  the  right  is  a 
lunette  representing  Alessandro  (who  was  at  that  time 
about  54)  kneeling  and  holding  a  book  of  devotions  in  his 
hand,  while  around  him  are  grouped  St.  Benedict,  St.  John 
the  Baptist  with  his  lamb,  and  St.  John  the  Divine.  Below 
this  lunette  and  divided  from  it  by  some  delightful  borders 
of  decoration  are  the  figures  of  St.  Justina  of  Padua  and  St. 
Ursula  (or  St.  Dorothea)  standing  one  on  each  side  of  the 


MILANESE   ART  83 

tabernacle,  whilst  below  it  and  between  the  saints  is  a  cherub 
bearing  symbolic  torches. 

On  the  opposite  side  is  a  similar  arrangement.  In  the 
centre  is  Ippolita  Sforza  and  around  her  are  three  saints, 
St.  Scholastica,  St.  Agnes,  with  her  Iamb  to  balance  the 
lamb  on  the  other  side,  and  St.  Catherine.  A  fresco  of  the 
Holy  Redeemer  takes  the  place  of  the  tabernacle  on  the 
other  side,  and  below  it  is  the  same  cherub  mourning  be- 
cause the  torches  he  was  bearing  so  joyously  on  the  other 
side  have  now  gone  out  for  ever.  On  each  side  this  time 
appear  St.  Apollonia  and  St.  Lucia  with  their  emblems. 
High  up  above  the  lunettes  is  a  third  tier  of  decoration.  In 
the  centre  is  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  with  numerous 
saints  grouped  around  her  empty  tomb  watching  her  as 
she  ascends  to  heaven.  On  the  right  is  a  scene  representing 
the  attack  upon  St.  Maurice  and  the  martyrdom  of  the  saint, 
who  kneels  in  the  foreground  and  is  being  beheaded  by  a 
huge  executioner.  On  the  left  is  a  similar  fresco,  repre- 
senting in  the  foreground  King  Sigismond  presenting  the 
church  to  St.  Maurice,  who  in  this  picture  stands  aloft  on  a 
pedestal.  In  the  background  King  Sigismond  himself 
sufifers  martyrdom  by  the  sword. 

Having  looked  well  at  this  lovely  series  of  frescoes  go 
into  a  chapel  on  the  Z.,  the  one  nearest  to  the  altar  rails,  and 
passing  through  it  go  in  by  a  door  in  the  eastern  wall  be- 
hind the  screen  at  which  you  have  been  looking.  You  will 
now  find  yourself  in  the  nuns'  part  of  the  church,  now  en- 
tirely deserted,  and  you  will  find  that  Luini's  commission 
was  not  only  to  adorn  the  church  but  also  to  decorate  the 
nuns'  choir. 

The  frescoes  here  are  in  very  bad  condition.  Many  of 
them  are  invisible,  and  doors  have  been  cut  through  two  of 
them  to  their  very  serious  injury.  There  are,  however, 
nine  fine  frescoes  to  be  made  out,  all  of  which  represent 
scenes  taken  from  the  life  of  Our  Lord. 

One  of  the  most  lovely,  now  almost  destroyed,  represents 
the  Marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee,  and  is  treated  in  a  mystical 
manner  symbolising  to  the  nuns  the  Divine  union  of  Christ 


84  MILAN 

with  the  consecrated  rehgious.  The  bride  is  the  daughter 
of  Alessandro  and  Ippohta,  and  the  bridegroom  is  St. 
Maurice. 

Below  these  scenes  is  another  series  of  saints,  including 
St.ApolIonia,  St.  Catherine,  St.  Roch,  St.  Sebastian,  St.  Agnes, 
and  St.  Lucia.  Even  yet  we  have  not  seen  the  finest  work 
of  this  great  artist  in  the  church,  and  now  we  return  into 
it  and  pass  over  to  the  right  side  into  the  third  chapel, 
which  was  decorated  long  after  Luini  had  finished  the 
work  we  have  just  been  examining,  and  was  in  fact  not 
painted  till  1530,  almost  at  the  end  of  Luini's  life. 

The  donor  of  the  work  and  founder  of  the  chapel  was  one 
Francesco  Besozzi. 

The  work  was  completed,  we  know,  by  the  15th  of  August, 
1530,  but  Besozzi  died  in  1529,  and  therefore  did  not  live  to 
see  the  wonderful  frescoes  executed  in  his  chapel. 

In  the  altar-piece  we  have  a  marked  example  of  Luini's 
earnest  desire  to  avoid  the  creation  of  any  feelings  of  horror 
or  repulsion  in  the  minds  of  those  who  worshipped  at  the 
altar.  I  ^  ';'..<> 

The  subject  which  was  selected  by  Besozzi  was  that  of 
the  **Flagellation,  but  Luini  did  not  attempt  to  represent 
it  in  customary  form.  He  characteristically  chose  to  depict 
the  unbinding  of  Our  Lord  from  the  column  after  the  dread 
scourging  had  taken  place. 

To  use  Mrs.  Jameson's  expressive  phrase,  "  Christ  is 
strengthless  and  fainting  "  from  the  torture.  The  barbarous 
soldiers  are  loosening  the  ropes  that  bound  the  victim  to 
the  column,  and  Our  Lord,  in  the  very  act  of  falling 
to  the  ground,  is  being  roughly  supported  by  one  of  the 
men. 

The  bodily  weakness,  almost  triumphing  for  a  moment 
over  the  intense  mental  courage,  is  finely  expressed,  and 
to  those  who  served  or  knelt  at  the  altar,  the  picture  would 
always  be  an  enkindling  of  deep  sympathy,  of  profound 
pity  and  compassion,  and  of  wonder  at  the  sorrowful  sight. 
Close  at  hand  stands  St.  Lawrence,  robed  in  a  deacon's 
tunicle  and  wearing  the  stole  across  his  breast.     With  one 


MILANESE  ART  85 

hand  he  carries  a  clasped  book  and  a  pahn,  the  other  hand 
he  stretches  out,  pointing  to  the  Divine  Sufferer,  and  with  a 
piteous  expression  of  grief  directs  attention  to  the  central 
scene. 

On  the  other  side  is  a  majestic  figure  of  St.  Catherine 
leaning  upon  her  wheel.  She  lays  her  hand  tenderly  upon 
Francesco  Besozzi,  who,  in  the  garb  of  a  lawyer,  and  hold- 
ing his  rosary  between  his  clasped  hands,  kneels  humbly  by 
her  side,  gazing  in  great  reverence  at  the  figure  of  Christ. 
Behind  the  saints  are  tall,  armed  warriors,  and  near  by  are 
the  clothes  of  the  executioners  and  the  vesture  of  Christ, 
while  on  the  floor  are  the  scourges. 

High  up  above  this  representation  are  two  smaller  scenes, 
divided  by  the  column  which  passes  right  through  the 
picture.  These  two  smaller  pictures,  each  containing  only 
two  figures,  appear  to  refer  to  the  Easter  Resurrection.  In 
one  St.  Peter  is  approached  by  Mary  Magdalene,  who 
points  to  the  open  tomb  and  the  Roman  soldier,  and  in  the 
other  Our  Lord  appears  to  Mary  in  the  garden  in  His  risen 
form,  and  forbids  her  to  touch  Him. 

The  sides  of  this  chapel  are  occupied  by  two  frescoes 
depicting  the  legend  of  St.  Catherine.  In  one  fresco  is  seen 
in  the  distance  the  destruction  of  the  four  wheels  by  the 
angel  of  God,  and  the  slaying  of  the  executioners  and 
three  thousand  people  by  the  fragments  that  flew  around. 
In  the  foreground  is  St.  Catherine  kneeling  in  prayer,  asking 
that  she  may  be  strengthened  for  the  terrible  death  that  at 
that  moment  was  before  her. 

In  the  other  fresco  is  seen  the  decapitation  and  burial 
of  St.  Catherine.  Meekly  kneeling  in  the  foreground  is 
the  saint,  while  above  her  towers  a  gigantic  executioner, 
brandishing  the  sword  with  which  her  martyrdom  is  to 
take  place.  Near  at  hand  are  Roman  guards.  In  the 
distance  is  Mount  Sinai  transfigured  in  burning  light,  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  light  angels  are  placing  the  body  of 
St.  Catherine  into  the  marble  tomb  prepared  for  it. 

The  curious  feature  about  these  two  frescoes  is  that, 
according  to  Matteo  Bandello,   the  face  of  St.   Catherine 


86  MILAN 

is  that  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  and  most  wicked  of 
women  of  the  time. 

Bianca  Maria  was  the  beautiful  daughter  of  one  Giacomo 
Scappardone  by  a  Greek  v/ife.  She  married  first  one  of 
the  Visconti  family,  but  he  died  and  she  retired  to  Casale. 
A  little  later  on  she  became  the  wife  of  the  Count  of  Cellant, 
but  after  a  few  months  of  married  life  they  had  a  serious 
quarrel,  and  the  Countess  fled  to  Pavia,  where,  according 
lo  Bandello,  she  lived  a  life  "  over  free,  and  little 
honest.' 

One  of  her  lovers  was  Ardizzino,  Count  of  Mavino,  who 
was  violently  in  love  with  her,  but  she  gave  him  up  and 
attracted  to  herself  .SanSeverino,  Count  of  Gaiazzo.  Having 
won  his  affection  and  obtained  his  promise  to  gratify  all 
her  wishes,  she  tried  to  persuade  him  to  kill  Ardizzino, 
whom  now  she  thoroughly  hated.  He  pretended  to  assent, 
but  did  not  intend  to  carry  out  her  desire,  and  left  her  in 
horror. 

She  then  returned  to  the  desire  for  Ardizzino,  and,  in 
order  to  be  revenged  upon  Sanseverino,  used  her  utmost 
power  to  attract  back  again  her  previous  lover,  and  then 
having  won  him  to  her  side  again,  proposed  to  him  to  kill 
Sanseverino. 

She  succeeded  no  better  with  him,  as  he  was  likewise 
horrified  at  her  cruelty  and  fled  from  her,  and  meeting  San- 
severino afterwards,  they  revealed  to  one  another  the  manner 
in  which  she  had  tried  to  cajole  each  into  killing  the  other. 
Still  the  revenge  of  this  terrible  woman  was  hot  and  burning. 
A  foolish  youth,  a  Sicilian,  one  Pietro  di  Cardona,  fell 
into  her  toils,  and  she  worked  her  wicked  will  upon  him. 
A  long  and  untrue  story  of  the  previous  cruelty  of  Ardizzino 
inflamed  his  anger,  and  to  win  her  enduring  affection  he 
undertook  to  execute  her  wishes. 

With  a  band  of  twenty-five  men  he  met  Ardizzino,  Count 
of  Mavino,  and  his  brother  Carlo,  and  set  upon  them  and 
murdered  them  both.  The  Duke  of  Bourbon,  who  was  at 
that  time  the  titular  ruler  of  Milan,  had  Pietro  arrested  and 
thrown  into  prison.     Then  Sanseverino  came  forward  and 


MILANESE  ART  87 

told  the  whole  story,  and  the  city  rang  with  the  intelligence 
of  the  crimes  of  this  famous  beauty. 

Pietro  by  some  connivance  was  allowed  to  escape  from 
prison,  as  it  was  evident  that  he  was  only  a  tool  in  the 
hands  of  his  mistress,  and  a  man  of  very  weak  intelligence, 
but  the  Countess  of  Cellant  was  beheaded  as  the  penalty  of 
her  crime. 

This  was  the  story  that  was  in  every  one's  mouth  at  the 
time  Luini  was  working  at  the  Besozzi  Chapel,  and  he  made 
use  of  the  beauty  of  the  wicked  Countess,  and  painted  her 
fascinating  features  in  his  representations  of  St.  Catherine, 
and  so  perpetuated  her  memory  and  the  story  of  her  crime. 

In  the  roof  of  the  chapel  appear  the  two  sibyls,  Agrippa 
and  Erithrea,  and  angels  bearing  the  emblems  of  the 
Passion,  the  crown,  the  nails,  the  spear,  the  sponge,  and 
other  emblems,  and  these  mighty  spiritual  beings  are  gazing 
down  upon  the  scene  of  Christ  unbound  from  the  column, 
and  their  faces  are  expressive  of  great  pity  and  of  comfort. 

The  whole  mo//f  of  the  decoration  of  this  chapel,  dis- 
missing the  mere  accident  of  the  use  of  the  Countess  of 
Cellant  as  a  model,  seems  to  be  that  of  suffering  without 
fault,  and  of  heavenly  comfort  given  to  the  sufferer.  The 
sufferings  of  Our  Lord,  of  St^  Catherine,  of  St.  Lawrence, 
of  the  Apostles  at  the  empty  tomb,  of  Mary  Magdalene  in 
the  garden,  were  all  meritorious  sufferings,  not  the  result 
of  the  sin  of  the  sufferer,  but  for  the  purification  of  the  soul. 
All  these  sufferings  were  blessed  from  heaven,  all  the 
sufferers  received  heavenly  comfort  and  eventually  the 
reward  of  martyrdom,  and  this  scheme  of  thought  seems  to 
be  the  idea  upon  which  the  selection  both  of  the  frescoes 
and  of  the  standing  figures  is  based.  If,  as  some  writers 
state,  the  figure  to  the  left  of  Our  Lord  is  that  of  St.  Stephen 
the  martyr  rather  than  St.  Lawrence,  the  7jw/tf  is  not  in 
any  way  altered,  for  each  saint  suffered  martyrdom  for  his 
faith,  was  comforted  by  angels,  and  received  into  glory. 

In  this  church  you  will  have  gained  such  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  best  work  of  Luini  that  when  you  come 
to  find  his  work  in  other  churches  you  ought  to  be  able  to 


88  MILAN 

recognise  it.  It  exists  in  many  buildings  in  Milan  and  we 
shall,  ere  we  leave  the  city,  see  it  in  the  Brera  and  Poldi 
galleries  and  also  in  the  Borromean  Palace,  but  in  no  other 
place  will  you  have  so  good  an  idea  of  the  sweetness  and 
tenderness  of  the  artist  as  you  will  in  this  church,  i  nless 
you  are  sufficiently  interested  to  travel  to  the  towns  of 
Saronno,  Legnano,  and  Lugano  after  you  leave  Milan. 

I  shall  just  briefly  refer  to  these  towns  at  the  end  of  this 
part  of  the  book. 

It  \\'ill  he  well  for  you  when  you  leave  this  church  to 
go  to  the  Brera,  but  do  not  do  so  if  you  have  come  to  the 
afternoon  or  are  at  all  tired,  as  the  Brera  Gallery  is  a  large 
and  a  tiring  one,  and  you  must  not  attempt  to  try  to  see 
it  at  the  close  of  a  day  of  sight-seeing,  but  should  start  fresh 
in  the  morning  to  visit  it. 

You  will  find  a  tram  from  the  Duomo  that  will  take  you 
to  its  very  door.  Take  the  Porta  Volta  tram,  the  one  which 
bears  the  word  Cimitero  upon  it,  as  there  is  another  Porta 
Volta  tram  that  does  ;iof  pass  the  gallery. 

You  will  not  find  it  an  easy  gallery  in  which  to  study,  as 
the  numbering  of  the  pictures  is  very  confusing  and  follows, 
no  consecutive  order  at  all.  The  official  catalogue  does  not 
make  the  matter  much  plainer,  as  it  has  its  own  system  of 
arrangement,  and  when  to  this  you  add  the  fact  that  the 
pictures  are  not  hung  either  chronologically  or  in  schools, 
and  you  notice  that  constant  rearrangements  are  taking 
place,  you  will  realise  that  you  are  in  one  of  the  most 
puzzling  of  Italian  galleries  and  one  which  is  responsible  for 
more  strong  words  than  any  other  into  which  I  have  ever 
been.  I  will  try  to  point  out  to  you,  room  by  room,  which 
are  the  most  important  pictures  that  it  contains.  In  the 
vestibule  and  corridor  are  the  frescoes  that  constitute  one  of 
the  greatest  features  of  the  collection.  I  should  rather  have 
said  that  they  were'  there,  as  when  last  I  visited  the  gallery, 
in  October,  there  was  hardly  one  to  be  seen  and  the  great 
majority  of  them  had  been  taken  down  and  stacked  away  in 
a  store-room,  whilst  the  corridor  was  being  redecorated.     I 


MILANESE  ART  89 

was  told  it  might  be  some  weeks  ere  they  were  re-hung,  or  it 
might  be  months,  so  that  whether  you  will  find  them  in  their 
places  when  you  come  to  use  this  book  I  cannot  tell.  I  hope 
that  you  will,  as  many  of  them  are  very  beautiful  works. 

There  should  be  a  whole  series  of  *  *  frescoes  b)-  Luini 
brought  from  a  villa  called  La  Felucca,  near  to  r^Ionza, 
where  he  worked  for  some  time,  quite  at  the  beginning  of 
his  career.  Of  these  the  most  important  is  52,  the  Burial 
of  St.  Catherine,  one  of  the  loveliest  works  that  Luini  ever 
did.  The  saint  is  being  carried  to  her  tomb  by  three  flying 
angels,  who,  with  tender  care,  carry  their  sweet  burden  to 
Mount  Sinai.  Thei'e  are  other  frescoes  from  the  same  house 
as  (10)  a  Child  on  a  White  Horse,  (11)  Three  Girls  playing 
at  Forfeits,  (39)  the  Metamorphosis  of  Daphne,  (57)  a 
Sacrifice  to  the  God  Pan,  and  (70)  the  Israelites  preparing 
for  their  Departure  from  Egypt.  Then  there  is  another 
series  of  works  by  the  same  artist,  brought  from  the  various 
suppressed  churches  of  Milan,  notably  Sta.  Maria  della  Pace 
— the  old  Monastery — and  Sta.  Maria  di  Brera,  as  well  as  from 
a  Carthusian  house  in  Milan  known  as  San  Michele  alia 
Chiusa.  Those  from  della  Pace  represent  scenes  in  the  life 
of  the  Virgin  and  are  very  charming  :  (5)  represents  the 
Madonna  and  St.  Joseph  returning  from  their  Espousals. 
They  are  hand-in-hand,  and  the  scene  is  exceedingly  pretty. 
(19)  [lY.B. — I  am  following  the  order  in  which  the  works  were 
arranged  in  the  room  when  last  I  saw  them]  is  St.  Joseph 
chosen  as  the  Spouse  of  the  Virgin,  (42)  is  the  Madonna 
Visiting  Elizabeth,  (43)  the  Presentation,  (51)  the  Birth  of  the 
Madonna,  (53)  the  Meeting  of  St.  Anna  with  St.  Joachim, 
(63)  the  Education  of  the  Madonna,  (69)  the  Presentation  of 
the  i\Iadonna  to  the  High  Priest,  and  (73)  the  Dream  of  St. 
Joseph.  These  frescoes  should,  of  course,  be  hung  in  the 
order  in  which  the  events  depicted  in  them  took  place,  and 
in  that  case  the  numbers  would  run  as  follows — 53,  51,  63, 
69,  19,  S,  73,  42,  43,  and  51. 

There  is  also  a  fragment  from  the  same  church  (E13) 
representing  the  Madonna  in  the  act  of  blessing  a  nun,  and 
several  portions  of  other  decoration,  especially  of  angels. 


90  MILAN 

From  the  Old  Monastery  there  is  a  noteworthy  fresco  of  the 
Resurrection  (24)  in  which  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  notice 
the  skilful  use  that  the  artist  has  made  of  yellow  colour, 
which  is  so  used  as  to  give  the  effect  and  sparkle  of  gold 
though  no  gold  is  actually  used.  A  remarkable  picture  comes 
from  Sta.  Maria  di  Brera  (47),  one  of  the  few  that  Luini 
signed,  and  depicting  the  Virgin  on  a  throne  with  Saints 
Anthony  and  Barbara  on  either  side.  This  work  is  dated 
1 52 1.  A  dignified  figure  is  that  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  (40), 
in  which  the  artist  has  departed  from  his  usual  flat  effect 
customary  to  fresco  of  that  period  and  has  represented  the 
folds  of  the  dress  by  deep  heavy  shadows. 

I  must  not  go  through  all  these  frescoes  seriatim^  but  I 
advise  you  to  do  so  and  to  study  them  carefully  as  they  re- 
present the  Milanese  school  at  its  best  and  are  well  worthy 
of  attention.  One  or  two  other  men  must,  however,  be  men- 
tioned. (71)  is  by  Foppa  and  is  far  more  archaic,  stiff,  and 
formal  in  its  modelling  that  these  at  which  we  have  been 
gazing.  Do  not  forget  that  in  this  fresco  we  have  the  work  of 
a  much  earlier  man  than  Luini,  and  therefore  that  the  freedom 
which  the  latter  artist  attained  must  not  be  expected  in  the 
work  of  Foppa.  We  shall  find  that  the  figures  ai^e  con- 
strained, and  we  shall  notice  the  sculpturesque  effect  that 
was  obtained  from  drawing  from  classic  models  rather  than 
from  actual  life.  Bramantine's  work  is  numbered  4,  9,  and 
8,  and  you  may  also  add  (41),  which  is  certainly  not  the  work 
of  Luini,  although  attributed  to  him  in  the  catalogue.  Then 
you  will  come  to  the  frescoes  of  Gaudenzio  Ferrari — vigorous 
strong  work,  full  of  movement  and  powerful  in  colour.  Notice 
especially  25,  30,  and  32. 

Room  L 

We  now  enter  Room  I.,  and,  commencing  on  the  R.,  notice 
the  following  pictures  :• — 

83.  Virgin  and  Child,  Bevilacqua,  a  very  rare  master, 
signed  and  dated  1502  ;  a  somewhat  harsh  picture,  stiff  and 
formal  in  arrangement,  but  of  good  colour,  and  interesting 


MILANESE  ART  91 

for  the  skill  shown  in  the  pavement  and  in  the  very  careful 
arrangement  of  the  draperies. 

95.  The  Archangels  and  Satan,  an  ordinary  work  of 
Marco  da  Oggione. 

96.  A  Youth  with  St.  Anthony.  A  much  finer  work  of 
this  same  Leonardesque  painter,  signed,  but  very  unpleasant 
in  colouring. 

87  l>is,  St.  Jerome,  is  a  very  pallid  work  of  Borgognone. 

87.  Virgin  and  Child.  A  gorgeous  picture  which  was  at 
one  time  attributed  to  Zenale,  but  is  now  known  to  be  the 
work  of  Bernardino  de  Conti.  Eastlake  calls  it  a  preten- 
tious picture,  and  so  no  doubt  it  is,  but  it  is  at  the  same  time 
a  very  bold  piece  of  effect,  and  as  the  work  of  an  artist  who 
was  more  a  painter  of  portraits  than  of  altar-pieces  and  of 
whom  very  little  is  known,  it  is  of  interest. 

75.  The  Assumption  and  Coronation,  a  large  and  note- 
worthy work  by  Borgognone,  well  arranged  and  balanced. 
The  Virgin  is  in  the  midst,  within  a  vesica-shaped  glory, 
ascending  up  to  heaven  attended  by  angels  ;  beneath  are  the 
Apostles,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose,  and  other  saints. 
Around  this  picture  are  six  pictures  by  Foppa,  all  at  one 
time  given  to  Zenale,  when  we  knew  less  of  the  work  of 
Foppa  than  is  at  present  known.  They  are  figures  of  saints  : 
76.  St.  Clara  and  St.  Bonaventura  ;  yy.  St.  Jerome  and  St. 
Alexander  ;  78.  St.  Louis  the  Bishop  and  St.  Bernard  ;  79. 
St.  Vincent  the  Deacon  ;  80.  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  ;  and  81. 
the  Virgin  and  Child  with  Four  Angels.  All  are  apparently 
the  portions  of  one  altar-piece,  and  although  they  are  not 
beautiful,  yet  in  them  is  to  be  found  the  nucleus  of  Milanese 
art,  and  the  strange  formality  that  distinguished  the  art  of 
Foppa,  founded  as  it  was  upon  classic  sculpture. 

82.  Noah  Derided  by  Ham,  is  an  oil  painting  by  Luini, 
and  is  only  interesting  as  an  early  work  of  the  artist  before 
he  had  learned  to  use  the  medium  rightly.  In  this  same 
gallery  we  shall  see  his  picture  of  the  Madonna  with  the 
Rose-hedge,  which  will  reveal  to  us  how  skilfully  he  could 
paint  in  oil  later  on  in  his  life  ;  but  with  all  his  skill  there  was 
a  want  of  spontaneity  about  his  productions  in  oil  that  places 


92  MILAN 

them  on  a  far  lower  level  than  is  occupied  by  the  fresco-work. 
This  picture  is  powerfully  drawn,  and  the  unpleasant  subject 
is  dexterously  handled. 

96,  we  have  already  named. 

107.  Martyrdom  of  St.  Catherine,  is  by  Gaudenzio  Ferrari, 
and  has  all  his  failings  in  crude,  hot  colouring,  exaggerated 
strength  of  limbs,  and  violent  action.  It  is  powerful,  dramatic, 
and  definite,  as  Gaudenzio  always  was,  but  the  picture 
cannot  certainly  be  called  an  attractive  one. 

Room  II. 

In  this  room  we  must  give  up  the  idea  of  confining 
our  attention  to  pictures  of  the  Milanese  school,  and  look 
only  at  the  important  pictures  regardless  of  the  school  to 
which  they  belong,  inasmuch  as  there  are  to  be  seen 
several  really  fine  works  belonging  to  different  dates  and 
different  schools  brought  together  in  a  certain  grand  con- 
fusion in  one  room. 

159.  The  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  is  Umbrian,  but  long 
before  the  days  of  the  painters  whom  we  usually  associate 
with  the  name  of  that  school.  It  is  by  Gentile  da  Fabriano, 
one  of  quite  the  early  artists  of  Umbria,  who  is  usually 
known  by  his  Adoration  of  the  Magi  which  is  in  the 
Academia  in  Florence.  It  is  a  signed  picture,  but  is  not  a 
good  example  of  this  archaic  master,  who  partook  of  the 
character  of  Fra  Angelico  in  devotional  aspirations  without 
rising  to  his  heights  of  beauty,  and  who  seems  to  have 
exulted  in  the  free  use  of  plenty  of  gold  and  the  most 
brilliant  of  colours. 

In  this  work  he  uses  a  gold  background  and  surrounds 
the  figure  of  the  Eternal  t'ather  with  angels  with  rich  red 
wings. 

Missing  for  a  moment  162,  we  shall  find  in  the  next 
picture,  161,  and  in  the  four  that  surround  it,  as  well  as  in  183 
and  180  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  some  more  Um- 
brian work,  some  of  the  portions  of  one  altar-piece  that  with 
inexcusable  carelessness  are  scattered  all  over  the  Brera, 


MILANESE   ART  93 

instead  of  being  united  into  one  place  where  the  effect 
desired  by  the  artist,  Niccolo  Alunno,  could  be  understood. 
180,  the  Madonna  and  Child,  is  signed  and  dated  1465. 
The  other  panels  represent  various  saints  :  r65  being  St. 
John  Baptist;  165A,  St.  Peter;  165B,  St.  Jerome  ;  165c,  St. 
Francis  ;  183,  St.  Bernard  ;  160,  St.  Louis;  and  161,  Christ 
with  the  Cross  ;  whilst  in  other  rooms  there  are  three  other 
parts  of  the  same  work.  The  Umbrian  school  ranges  itself 
around  certain  towns,  which  each  had  its  own  little  following 
grouped  around  some  one  central  master.  Foligno  was  the 
home  of  this  Niccolo,  and  he  was,  it  is  possible,  a  pupil  of 
Benozzo  Gozzoli,  but  it  is  to  his  influence  that  the  later 
Umbrians  owed  such  sturdiness  and  power  as  some  of  them 
possessed.  In  his  early  days  Perugino  must  have  derived 
some  of  his  power  from  Niccolo.  His  was  a  fierce  spirit, 
very  far  removed  from  the  sweetness,  tenderness,  and 
harmony  of  the  earlier  masters.  His  was  an  uncompromis- 
ing realism  which  is  at  times  almost  painful  in  its  stress, 
but  all  this  sternness  was  of  the  greatest  value  in  giving  to 
those  who  succeeded  him  and  who  were  influenced  by  him, 
some  of  the  sturdy  truth  which  the  Umbrian  later  school 
lacked,  and  which  allowed  it  to  degenerate  into  a  fanciful 
lackadaisical  mannerism  towards  its  close. 

This  seems  a  good  deal  to  say  about  these  hard,  stern  little 
pictures,  especially  in  the  room  which  contains  the  great 
Bellini,  but  it  is  the  evolution  of  one  group  of  artists  from 
another  that  I  want  you  to  realise,  and  to  do  that  you  will 
have  to  look  at  some  pictures  that  may  not  seem  at  first  to 
be  interesting.  The  picture  that  we  missed  a  moment  ago 
(162)  must  be  regarded  not  on  its  own  merits  but  as  the 
precursor  of  far  greater  works.  It  is  a  Madonna  and  Child 
with  saints,  by  two  brother  artists,  who  worked  together  and 
who  signed  their  pictures  with  their  joint  names.  They 
were  of  the  Vivarini  family,  or  Antonio  certainly  was,  and 
they  may  be  considered  as  the  founders  of  the  Venetian 
school.  The  question  of  influence  is  a  curious  one,  as  there 
is  evidently  the  influence  of  Gentile,  whose  work  we  have 
just  seen,  and  who  was  brought  to  Venice  to  carry  out  with 


94  MILAN 

Pisanello  some  extensive  schemes  of  decoration  (now  all 
destroyed),  and  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  strong  German 
type  about  the  faces  and  in  the  architecture  that  belongs  to 
the  school  of  Cologne.  The  harmony  and  richness  of  the 
colouring  foreshadows  the  quality  of  the  Venetians  who 
were  to  follow,  and  whose  special  characteristics  were 
pageantry  with  grand  colouring  and  harmony  over  all. 

In  i68  we  see  this  exemplified,  "^*St.  Mark  Preaching  at 
Alexandria,  by  Gentile  Bellini.  Here,  although  the  artist 
had  a  subject  that  he  might  well  have  treated  in  an  accurate 
manner  with  correct  representations  of  buildings  and  persons, 
accurate  in  architecture,  costume,  or  colour,  he  has  not 
troubled  to  do  anything  of  the  kind  ;  but  thorough  Venetian 
as  he  was,  he  has  simply  and  frankly  painted  a  fine  pageant 
picture,  artistically  charming,  historically  quite  absurd,  but 
well  composed,  excellently  grouped,  delightful  in  colouring, 
and  a  typical  fine  Venetian  picture,  as  decorative  as  it  well 
can  be.  He  is  said  to  have  so  far  conformed  with  local 
practice,  as  to  have  introduced  the  portraits  of  some  of  his 
fellow-citizens  into  the  crowd  around  the  preacher,  but  in  all 
other  respects  the  work  is  one  of  decoration  and  artistically 
admirable.  Other  Venetian  pictures  in  this  same  room 
are — 

172.  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  by  Palma  Vecchio. 

177.  The  Appearance  of  St.  John  to  Galla  Placidia  in  the 
church  she  had  built  in  Ravenna,  by  Rondinelli,  a  pupil  of 
Bellini. 

191.  A  splendid  Cima,  and  189  and  193,  two  works  by 
Carlo  Crivelli.  The  Cima  is  a  large  picture  which  is  named  by 
Vasari,  and  is  one  of  the  two  fine  works  by  this  artist  which 
are  in  the  Brera.  He  derived  his  name  from  his  habit  of 
representing  the  hills  of  his  native  place  in  his  pictures,  and 
they  can  be  well  seen  in  the  exquisite  landscape  that  is  in 
the  distance  in  this  picture.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Giovanni 
Bellini,  and  his  works  have  often  been  taken  for  those  of  his 
master.  He  excelled  in  single  upright  figures  and  in  quiet 
simple  colouring,  and  in  this  picture  there  is  very  little  real 
colouring,  but  a  quiet  harmonious  effect  that  is   of  great 


MILANESE   ART  95 

distinction.  The  saints  are  St.  Peter  Martyr,  who  most 
peacefully  bears  the  knife  in  his  head,  St.  Augustine,  and 
St.  Nicholas.  Vasari  tells  us  that  Cima  died  young,  and 
seems  to  have  thought  that  had  he  lived  he  would  have  done 
finer  work,  but  there  is  little  that  needs  improvement  in  this 
calm  delightful  picture.  On  either  side  of  it  are  the  two 
works  by  that  curious  artist,  Carlo  Crivelli,  in  whose  works 
the  Brera  is  peculiarly  rich.  After  looking  at  them  it  will 
be  well  for  you  to  go  on  into  Room  VI.,  as  there  you  will 
find  the  remaining  three  portions  of  the  same  work,  ail 
brought  from  the  Church  of  San  Domenico  at  Camerino  in 
1810.  Room  VI.  is  actually  next  to  the  room  in  which  you 
are,  but  to  get  to  it  you  will  have  to  go  into  the  next  Room 
III.,  and  then  go  through  IV.  into  VI.  Having  looked  at 
it,  then  continue  your  steps  right  on  down  through  VII., 
VIII.,  and  IX.  into  X.  and  XI.,  and  pass  into  the  Oggioni 
gallery,  and  there  you  will  see  a  magnificent  work  by  this 
same  artist,  and  by  these  means  you  will  gain  a  better  idea 
of  his  work  than  by  standing  only  before  these  two  little 
works  in  Room  II.  I  am  not  going  to  advise  this  course  of 
action  in  every  case,  so  you  need  not  begin  to  think  that  I 
shall  quite  tire  you  out  in  this  gallery,  but  in  one  or  two 
cases  it  is,  I  think,  advisable,  and  therefore  I  hope  you  will 
follow  my  advice. 

The  Camerino  pictures  although  from  the  same  church, 
were  not  painted  at  the  same  period  of  Crivelli's  career. 
The  altar-piece  in  Room  VI.  is  the  earliest,  and  is  dated 
1482  ;  the  Crucifixion  in  Room  II.  is  about  1485,  the  Oggioni 
one  is  dated  1483,  and  the  Virgin  and  Child  in  Room  II.  and 
the  Pietkover  the  Coronation  in  the  Oggioni  Gallery  are  the 
very  latest  works  that  we  have  of  this  artist,  and  are  certainly 
not  earlier  than  1493. 

Hence  we  have  in  these  pictures  different  periods  of  the 
artist's  work.  As  has  been  so  well  said  by  Professor  Rush- 
forth,  all  Crivelli's  capacities  for  strong  drawing,  the  attitude 
andgrouping  of  his  figures,  the  expression  of  dignity  and  grace, 
and  general  decorative  effect  are  all  to  be  seen  at  their  best  in 
the  1482  altar-piece.    The  figures  are  united  in  a  single  com- 


96  MILAN 

position,  and  each  figure  is  full  of  earnestness  and  devotion 
and  very  expressive  in  its  pose.  It  is  one  of  the  artist's  very 
finest  works.  In  the  Crucifi.xion  we  see  a  falling  oft'  of  power, 
as  the  two  figures  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  are  peevish  in  ex- 
pression, but  the  landscape  is  one  of  the  most  charming  that 
Crivelli  ever  produced,  and  is  just  such  a  "prospect  as  may 
be  seen  from  any  of  the  hill  towns,"  in  Crivelli's  native  district 
the  Marches  of  Italy.  In  the  Oggioni  picture  we  find  the 
very  latest  period  of  Crivelli's  work.  He  has  here  given 
up  the  habit  of  representing  isolated  figures  of  saints  in 
separated  panels,  which  characterised  his  very  early  work 
and  with  which  we  ate  familiar  from  the  pictures  by  him  in 
the  National  Gallery  and  has  combined  groups  of  figures  in 
one  single  frame.  In  this  great  Coronation  we  find  a  unity 
of  composition,  a  wealth  of  detail,  and  a  glory  and  richness 
both  in  gold  and  colour  that  is  remarkable  and  magnificent  ; 
and  then  in  the  last  work,  the  A'irgin  and  Child  of  Room  II., 
we  have  the  consummation  of  all  this  glory  of  decoration. 
There  is  a  statuesque  Madonna,  splendidly  posed  and 
grandly  draped,  seated  beneath  a  canopy  of  the  most 
gorgeous  colour,  a  picture  crowded  with  detail,  and 
wrought  with  the  finest  of  effect — a  typical  piece  of  Venetian 
decoration  of  the  most  perfect  order  combined  with  a  fine 
religious  presentation  of  the  Madonna  and  Child. 

We  are  now  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  to  the  one 
on  which  we  entered,  and  close  beside  the  Crivellis  are 
two  noteworthy  pictures  ;  195  is  by  Timoteo  Viti,  the  pupil 
of  Francia,  and  the  artist  from  whom,  according  to  one  theor)-, 
Raphael  derived  so  much  inspiration.  I  am  not  going  to 
comment  upon  this  picture,  for  if  I  do  I  shall  speak 
against  the  theory  that  I  have  just  stated,  but  to  me  it  is 
not  Raphaelesque,  and  it  is  cold  and  unimpressive  in  its 
effect.  The  theory  will  need  more  than  this  picture  to  con- 
vince me  of  its  accuracy,  but  I  warn  you  that  this  statement 
is  flat  heresy  on  my  part. 

197B.  The  Virgin  enthroned  with  four  saints,  is,  however, 
a  very  important  work  by  Luca  Signorelli,  which  is  signed 


MILANESE   ART  97 

and  dated.  It  was  painted  for  the  Church  of  San  Francesco 
in  Arcevia,  a  town  still  noted  for  the  possession  of  many  of 
Signorelli's  most  famous  works,  and  the  Madonna  and 
Child,  although  much  repainted,  are  still  of  great  beauty  and 
serenity.  Almost  ^00  great  a  serenity  and  want  of  interest 
is  seen  in  the  four  saints  St.  Simon,  St.  Jude,  St.  Bonaventura, 
and  St.  Francis,  who  surround  the  throne,  and  who  betray 
the  hand  of  an  assistant  rather  than  the  work  of  the  great 
virile  master  of  movement  that  Signorelli  was.  There  is  a 
stateliness,  however,  about  the  group,  a  sweep  of  line,  and  a 
grandeur  of  composition  that  renders  it  a  noteworthy  work. 
We  have  now  one  only  picture  to  examine  in  this  room,  and 
that  is  315,  a  delightful  picture  by  Liberale  da  Verona  of  St. 
Sebastian,  evidently  drawn  in  Venice,  and  worth  careful 
examination  as  it  is  full  of  nervous  life  and  activity,  and  the 
people  are  admirably  depicted  taking  an  intense  interest 
in  the  scene. 

ROOINI  III. 

We  now  pass  into  Room  III.,  in  which  there  are  some 
fine  Venetian  pictures. 

209,  215,  and  one  over  the  door,  233,  are  all  by  Bonafacio, 
and  are  rich  and  important  works.  You  will  at  once  see 
that  none  of  them  in  the  very  least  degree  presents  the 
scene  which  it  is  intended  to  depict  in  the  surroundings 
that  should  belong  to  it.  They  are  all  frankly  anachron- 
istic, thoroughly  decorative  and  poetical,  and  must  be 
considered  from  these  points  of  view  rather  than  as  repre- 
sentations of  Scriptural  events.  209  is  the  Infant  Moses 
Presented  to  the  Daughter  of  Pharaoh,  and  215,  the  com- 
panion work,  represents  Christ  Recognised  by  His  Disciples 
at  Emmaus.  The  third  work  is  of  the  Woman  taken  in 
Adultery. 

In  215,  the  head  of  Our  Lord  is  a  specially  fine  conception  ; 
but  with  this  exception  there  is  nothing  that  is  religious  in 
either  picture.  The  colouring  is  gorgeous,  the  figures  are 
full  of  grace  and  charm,  and  the  contrast  of  tints  in  the  rich 
colour  scheme  is  masterly.     Few  pictures  will  appeal  more 

G 


98  MI  LA  N 

to  a  lover  of  grand,  powerful  colour,  than  the  233  hanging- 
over  the  door.  It  is  simply  superb  in  its  way,  and  in  group- 
ing and  composition  will  well  repay  careful  attention. 

By  Paolo  Veronese  there  are  also  several  works  in  this 
room.  The  Supper  in  the  House  of  the  Pharisee  (213)  will, 
of  course,  attract  the  greatest  attention,  by  reason  of  its 
enormous  size.  Here,  again,  is  a  splendid  piece  of  decora- 
tion, a  picture  in  which  the  figures  are  well  arranged  and 
grouped,  and  in  which  the  scene  as  the  artist  has  imagined  it 
is  well  presented.  There  is  no  trace  of  religious  feeling  about 
it,  and  no  attempt  to  produce  such  an  emotion.  It  is  simply  a 
fine  picture  of  an  interesting  event,  which  the  artist  considered 
held  good  possibilities  for  pictorial  representation,  and  for 
the  exhibition  of  his  powers  of  grouping  and  colour,  and 
which  he  has  accordingly  treated  as  well  as  he  could  from  a 
mere  pictorial  standpoint.  The  colouring  is  delightfully  rich 
and  subdued  ;  there  is  dignity  about  the  figures,  notably 
about  the  Christ,  and  there  is  a  unity  in  the  picture,  a 
common  expression  of  interest  in  the  spectators,  that  is  not 
always  apparent  in  Veronese's  works,  and  which  redeems  this 
one  from  the  charge  of  being  commonplace  that  has  been 
given  to  certain  other  of  his  works. 

219,  220,  221,  are  three  parts  of  another  huge  picture  done 
by  this  same  Titan  amongst  masters.  The  centre-piece  is 
somewhat  confused  in  arrangement,  and  too  crowded  with 
figures,  and  the  colour  of  it  has,  from  some  mysterious  reason, 
assumed  a  cloudy  and  dull  effect ;  but  the  two  side  wings  are 
in  their  way  excellent,  and  having  only  one  or  two  figures  in 
each  of  them,  and  those  representing  bishops  in  full  canoni- 
cal attire,  are  by  their  simplicity  foils  to  the  crowded  and 
tumultuous  centre.  There  is  a  dignity  about  St.  Gregory, 
St.  Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Ambrose  which  is  excel- 
lent, and  although  the  angels  above  their  heads  are  not 
supernatural  beings  at  all,  but  simply  human  musicians  with 
wings,  yet  the  effect  of  these  two  groups  on  either  side  of 
the  central  scene  of  excitement  is  undoubtedly  good. 

227  is  another  fine  work,  even  more  grand  and  dignified 
than  the  other.     St.  Anthony  is  seated  upon  a  very  high 


MILANESE   ART  99 

throne,  St.  Cornelius  and  St.  Cyprian  stand  on  either  side, 
and  below  them  is  a  lad  bearing  the  Book  of  the  Gospels.  The 
idea  is  simply  to  represent  these  three  saints  in  an  imposing 
manner  for  the  church  dedicated  to  St.  Anthony  on  the 
island  of  Torcello,  whence  the  picture  came,  and  the  effect 
is  obtained  with  power  and  dignity,  and  the  object  therefore 
gained.  As  Eastlake  points  out,  the  draperies  are  somewhat 
clumsy,  but  the  grandiose  effect  of  the  work  is  undeniable. 
208  and  229,  also  by  Veronese,  need  not  detain  us. 

217  is  by  Tintoretto,  and  no  one  else  could  have  painted  a 
picture  so  full  of  power  that  is  so  entirely  lacking  in  senti- 
ment. Here  is  a  gloomy  scene  painted  in  the  densest  of 
shadow,  with  a  straining  after  pathos  and  an  utter  failure 
to  gain  a  single  particle  of  it.  It  is  not  a  work  that  you  will 
care  to  dwell  on  for  long.  230  is  a  finer  work,  but  here 
again  there  is  simply  no  feeling.  A'grand  piece  of  colouring, 
an  effective  picture,  a  clever  piece  of  grouping,  an  ingenious 
arrangement  of  shadows,  a  dignified  piece  of  masterly  de- 
coration, and  no  more. 

There  is  an  important  big  picture  standing  upon  the  floor, 
which  has,  on  the  occasions  of  my  last  two  visits,  been 
covered  up.  It  is  234,  and  by  an  unusual  artist,  Girolamo 
Savolda,  a  native  of  Brescia,  and  as  his  works  are  rare,  the 
picture  is  worth  your  inspection  if  you  can  get  it  uncovered. 
As  a  scheme  of  colour  it  is  remarkably  good,  and  the  land- 
scape behind  the  Apostles  is  quite  charming,  being  most 
carefully  and  thoughtfully  painted. 

There  is  plenty  of  open  air  in  the  picture,  plenty  of  space, 
and  the  figures,  both  of  the  Madonna  and  Child,  and  of  the 
angels  and  saints,  are  represented  with  dignity  and  admir- 
able effect,  whilst  the  faces  of  some  of  them  are  full  of  ex- 
pression and  are  quite  beautiful.  The  picture  is  altogether 
a  fine  one,  and  one  that  I  always  return  to  with  increasing 
pleasure  and  delight. 

Room  IV. 

In  Room  IV.  there  are  three  works  by  Titian,  none 
of  them  of  supreme  rank.     They  are  247,  248,  and  249. 


MILAN 


Room  V. 


Room  V.  is  the  most  important  in  the  gallery. 

267  is  the  well-known  **crayon  study  for  the  head  of  Christ 
in  the  Cenacolo,  and  is  the  only  work  in  the  gallery  by 
Leonardo.  It  is  undoubtedly  genuine,  and  is  certainly 
beautiful,  but  it  is  not  worthy  of  the  extravagant  praise  that 
has  been  lavished  upon  it.  It  is  only  a  very  slight  sketch, 
a  masterly  one  in  effect,  it  is  true,  but  it  has  been  so  damaged, 
that  its  beauty  consists  more  in  what  you  read  into  it  than 
in  what  there  is  actually  in  it. 

106  is  by  Solario,  and  a  typical  Milanese  work.  It  is,  of 
course,  very  Leonardesque  in  its  arrangement,  and  in  the 
aspect  of  the  Madonna  with  her  downcast  eyes,  but  it  is 
charming.     It  is  signed  and  dated  1495. 

Next  to  it  are  two  Cossas  which  are  not  numbered,  and 
which  represent  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  Baptist.  They  are  very 
good  examples  of  Ferrarese  work — dry,  angular,  and  full  of 
the  excellent  architecture  and  rich  ornament  that  is  so 
specially  characteristic  of  that  interesting  school.  They  are 
almost  suggestive  of  Crivelli  in  their  eccentricity.  Close  to 
them  hangs  another  unnumbered  picture,  by  another  close 
student  of  Leonardo,  the  always  charming  Boltraffio.  There 
are  the  patron  and  his  wife  who  commissioned  the  picture, 
and  above  them  in  the  air  the  usual  cherubs,  but  there  is  a 
delightful  feeling  of  devotion  about  the  picture,  and  a 
wonderful  care  in  the  painting  of  the  velvet  and  details, 
and,  with  all,  a  remarkable  interest  and  sympathy  in  the 
composition. 

]o6  h's,  by  Gaudenzio  Ferrari  need  not  long  detain  you. 
It  is,  of  course,  decorative,  but  too  strong  in  colour  and  over- 
strained. 

282  dis,  is  a  good  Sodoma,  very  characteristic  of  that  lusci- 
ous painter  who  was  so  unequal  in  his  productions  and  only 
occasionally  rose  to  the  highest  rank.  This  is  a  very  sweet 
picture,  perhaps  a  little  over-sweet,  but  the  action  of  the 
Divine  Child  with  the  lamb  is  so  charming  and  delightful 
that  much  may  be  forgiven  to  a  painter  who  could  imagine 


MILANESE  ART  loi 

and  depict  a  scene  such  as  this.  The  colours  are  very 
transparent  and  limpid,  producing  a  brilliant  effect,  and 
the  picture  has  another  interest  as  representing  the  artist 
at  his  very  fullest  Lombard  period  early  in  his  career,  long 
before  he  had  settled  in  Siena  or  derived  any  characteristics 
from  the  men  whom  he  afterwards  met  in  other  parts  of  Italy. 

282  is  the  Madonna  and  Child  surrounded  by  cherubs,  by 
Mantegna  ;  but  273  is  a  far  more  interesting  work  by  this 
same  master,  who  is  also  well  represented  by  a  superb 
**picture  that  hangs  opposite  to  it,  264,  St.  Luke  and 
various  saints. 

We  have  not  yet  met  with  the  works  of  Mantegna  in  our 
survey,  but  when  we  come  to  Padua  we  shall  see  this  artist 
at  his  best,  in  the  Church  of  the  Eremitani.  Perhaps  it  will 
be  well  to  cross  the  room  and  look  first  at  the  altar-piece 
that  came  from  the  Church  of  St.  Justina  in  Padua  (264),  as 
it  is  the  earliest  piece  of  the  artist's  work  in  the  gallery. 
Notice  the  classic  dignity  of  each  figure  ;  strong,  well 
balanced  on  its  feet,  erect,  with  admirable  draperies 
easily  flowing  in  voluminous  folds  around.  Notice  also 
that  with  all  this  classic  statuesque  dignity,  derived  from 
Squarcione,  there  is  a  sui-prising  amount  of  care  given  to 
the  details,  and  yet,  with  all  the  minuteness  of  attention 
given  to  them,  they  are  never  allowed  to  usurp  the  place 
that  belongs  to  effect  and  to  make  the  picture  niggling  in 
its  character.  The  details  of  background  will  repay  your 
attention,  and  all  the  little  items  of  the  costume  of  each 
saint,  but  after  you  have  examined  all,  the  impression  of 
that  noble  seated  figure  of  St.  Luke  and  the  four  standing 
saints  that  are  around  him  will  be  the  most  lasting  one 
upon  your  mind. 

Now  back  again  to  the  other  side,  and  you  will  see  the 
effect  of  the  art  of  Mantegna  when  in  its  most  severely 
scientific  mood.  The  **Dead  Christ,  273,  is  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  works  in  this  gallery.  It  is  foreshorten- 
ing carried  out  to  its  extreme  logical  issue,  and  was  ap- 
parently done  as  a  ^our  de  force.  It  is  quite  a  triumph, 
perfectly  accurate,  conveying  all  the  effect  that  is  desired, 


I02  MILAN 

and  a  work  of  most  masterly  skill.  It  is  not  pleasant, 
nor  is  the  treatment  reverent,  nor  does  it  in  any  way 
produce  the  emotion  of  devotion,  or  the  sense  of  sadness 
or  sympathy,  which  such  a  picture  should  produce  ;  but  it  is 
extraordinarily  clever,  and,  being  all  in  monochrome,  the 
eftect  is  the  more  striking. 

262  is  the  first  of  the  two  pictures  by  Signorelli  (262  and 
281)  in  this  room,  and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  these 
are  the  only  two  pictures  by  Signorelli  that  we  are  sure 
were  executed  in  his  early  days  before  his  fortieth  year. 
Both  came  from  Fabriano  ;  both  are  of  the  same  size  and 
shape,  and  probably  they  both  belonged  to  the  same  altar- 
piece.  There  is  much  that  is  interesting  about  them. 
Neither  the  Christ  nor  the  Madonna  possesses  that  grace 
or  dignity  to  which  Signorelli  afterwards  attained.  The 
Christ  is  peculiarly  ignoble,  but  the  main  characteristic  of 
each  picture  is  the  attention  that  the  youthful  artist  has 
given  to  anatomy,  to  the  painting  of  flesh  and  tOj  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  effect  and  power  of  muscles.  Both  pictures 
are  broadly  painted,  firm,  solid,  and  definite  in  their 
modelling,  and  with  well-massed  shadows. 

Between  these  two  works  hangs  a  good  characteristic 
picture  by  Borgognone,  Virgin  and  Child  with  St.  Clara 
and  a  Carthusian  (262  dis),  very  pallid  in  the  faces. 

^Then   we   come  to    the    chief  picture  in  this  room,  the 

Sposalizio  by  Raphael  (270),  signed  and  dated  1504. 

Please  dismiss  from  your  mind  when  you  are  looking  at 
it  that  it  was  a  reminiscence  of  his  master  Perugino's  work, 
the  celebrated  Sposalizio  at  Caen.  That  pictui-e  was  not,  I 
contend,  painted  by  Perugino  at  all,  but  was  the  work  of 
Lo  Spagna,  as  I  have  tried  to  show  in  my  book  on  Perugino. 
Therefore,  all  the  arguments  as  to  the  vast  improvement 
that  the  youthful  Raphael  executed  in  the  idea  started 
by  his  master,  and  the  manner  in  which  he,  adopting  the 
scheme  of  Perugino,  transformed  it  into  a  work  of  the 
highest  genius,  fall  to  the  ground.  The  Caen  picture  was 
painted  long  after  this  one,  and  was  taken  from  it,  rather 
than  itself  deriving  any  influence  from  the  one  at  Caen. 


MILANESE   ART  103 

Vasari  himself  says  as  to  this  very  picture  that  "  in  this 
work  the  process  of  excellence  may  be  distinctly  traced  in 
the  manner  of  Raphael,  which  is  here  refined  and  greatly 
surpasses  that  of  Pietro  Perugino."  The  surprising  feature 
about  this  fine  work  is  the  fact  that  it  was  painted  by  an 
artist  who  was  only  twenty-one  years  old,  and  that  its  per- 
spective is  absolutely  perfect.  It  is  so  simple,  so  judicious, 
so  refined,  that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  too  highly  of  the  genius 
of  the  man  who  at  such  a  tender  age  produced  it.  Its 
colouring  is  delightful,  and  the  technical  merit  of  the  picture 
is  remarkably  high,  as  can  unfortunately  be  quite  readily 
seen  by  comparison  with  the  numerous  copies  which  are 
always  to  be  found  in  the  same  room  with  it,  and  which  fall 
so  terribly  short  in  merit  from  the  triumphant  success  of 
the  original  work.  For  grace,  dreamy  refinement,  and 
charm  of  colour,  Raphael  never  excelled  this  early  work. 
Another  work  by  Costa  (328,  Adoration  of  the  Magi)  next 
meets  our  eye.  Ferrarese,  most  complete  in  its  archi- 
tecture, and  in  the  metallic  stiffness  of  its  draperies,  and 
strangely  fantastic  in  the  costumes,  it  is  not  so  interesting  a 
work  as  we  have  already  seen  by  this  artist  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room. 

Then  we  come  to  the  Bellini  (261),  a  life-sized  picture  of 
the  Madonna  and  Child,  quiet  and  peaceful  and  delightful 
in  its  colouring,  a  very  representative  example  of  the  artist's 
best  work.  We  have  in  the  next  room  another  work  by 
Giovanni  Bellini  (284),  painted  at  the  same  period  of  his  life 
as  this  Madonna  and  Child,  and  it  will  be  well  to  pass  into 
that  room  and  look  at  the  Pietk,  whilst  our  minds  are  open 
to  remember  the  Madonna  and  Child.  In  these  pictures, 
Bellini,  as  Mr.  Fry  has  said,  has  begun  to  free  himself 
from  the  Paduan  influences  that  cramped  him  and  has 
begun  to  find  his  own  personal  scheme.  The  drapery  falls 
in  large  masses,  and  the  picture  is  in  full  broad  planes  of 
easy  sweeping  brush-work.  This  is  not,  however,  the 
essential  side  of  the  conception,  and  in  the  study  of  mere 
technique  we  must  not  overlook  the  emotion  of  the  picture. 
It  is  very  tender  in  each  of  these  works.      In  the   Pieta 


I04  MILAN 

the  sorrow  is  profound,  but  not  a  torrent  of  tears  or  a  cry 
of  agony,  but  a  sadness  that  is  touching  in  its  intensity  ; 
and  in  the  Madonna  there  is  a  foreshadowing  of  this  same 
sadness,  a  deep  thoughtfulness  in  the  face  of  the  Madonna, 
an  anticipation  that  ahnost  extends  to  the  features  of  the 
Child,  and  which,  combined  with  the  quaint  "flavour  of 
archaism,  the  suavity  and  the  grace,"  of  Belhni,  that  are 
in  these  two  works,  "  fully  realised  for  the  first  time,"  unite 
in  the  production  of  most  fascinating  pictures. 

264  we  have  already  mentioned. 

A  Correggio  hangs  next— an  Adoration  of  the  Kings — lent 
by  the  Cardinal  from  the  Arcivescovado  ;  a  rich  glowing 
picture,  full  of  movement  and  colour. 

Then  we  come  to  the  very  attractive  Luini  **(265),  the 
finest,  perhaps,  that  he  ever  painted  in  oil  on  panel,  a 
Madonna  and  Child  with  a  beautiful  background  of  roses. 
It  is  a  very  pleasant  picture,  exquisitely  finished  and  quite 
charming  in  its  grace,  sweetness,  and  tenderness,  and  in 
the  wonderful  motherliness  that  distinguishes  the  Madonna. 
\<,-  A  very  pictorial  Carpaccio,  28S,  of  St.  Stephen  Disputing 
before  the  Synagogue,  most  carefully  painted  and  marked 
by  all  the  artist's  distinction  and  character,  is  next,  and 
then  a  fine  restrained  portrait  by  Titian,  and  we  have 
finished  this  wonderful  room  in  which  every  picture  is  worth 
study,  and  which  contains  not  only  the  chief  gems  of  the 
Brera,  but  more  works  worthy  of  distinctive  attention  than 
any  other  room  in  the  galleries  of  Europe  that  I  know. 
Everything  in  this  room  is  at  such  a  high  level  of  interest 
that  you  may  well  spend  many  hours  within  its  walls. 
There  are  some  interesting  primitives  in  the  vestibule 
opposite,  but  we  will  pass  into   Room  VI. 

Room  VI. 

The  Crivellis  we  have  already  seen,  and  also  the  Pietk 
by  Bellini,  but  we  have  two  pictures  to  look  at.  297  is  the 
late  Bellini  of  the  Madonna  and  Child  painted  near  the 
close  of  his  career  in  15 10.    It  is  one  of  the  latest  of  his  works 


MILANESE   ART  105 

that  we  possess,  and  is  marked  by  the  greatest  refinement, 
dehghtful  colouring,  and  marvellous  grace  both  in  attitude 
and  in  expression.  Near  to  it  hangs  a  splendid  work  by 
Cima  (300),  faulty  only  in  the  face  of  the  child  at  the  foot 
of  the  throne.  St.  Peter  is  seated  upon  a  throne  wearing 
full  pontifical  vestments,  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Paul 
stand  near,  and  the  child  angel  is  at  the  base.  The  com- 
position is  that  of  the  usual  triangle,  but  not  so  stifi"  as 
many  of  these  arrangements  are,  as  the  two  side  figures 
stand  well  away  from  the  central  throne.  The  colouring 
is  impressive,  well  modulated,  and  rich  in  effect,  and  the 
picture  is  altogether  one  of  the  finest  in  the  gallery,  and 
a  fine  example  of  the  Venetian  artist  at  his  best. 

Room  Vll. 

Eoom  VII.  contains,  in  306,  one  of  the  only  three  works 
known  by  Francesco  Verla  of  Vicenza,  one  of  the  followers 
and  probably  a  pupil  of  Squarcione.  It  is  a  signed  and 
dated  work  done  in  1511,  and  represents  a  Madonna  and 
Child  with  two  angels  and  two  saints.  Verla  was  only  a 
third-rate  artist,  but  his  ideas  of  colour  were  fine,  and  as 
a  scheme  of  colour  the  picture  is  worth  noting,  the  contrast 
of  deep  blue  in  the  Virgin's  mantle  with  its  green  lining 
against  the  inner  robe  of  gold  and  red,  being  particularly 
effective.  There  are  two  other  charming  Carpaccios  in  this 
room  depicting  two  scenes  from  the  legendary  life  of  the 
Virgin,  her  dedication  and  her  marriage ;  a  little  more  formal 
than  usual,  but  replete  with  graceful  work,  telling  the  story 
in  a  charming  naive  manner  (307-9).  A  powerful  work  by 
Paris  Bordone  (306  Ins),  representing  a  man  and  woman,  the 
latter  in  a  green  costume,  and  three  fine  portraits  by  Lotto,  full 
of  character,  grandly  drawn,  and  robed  in  sumptuous  costumes 
(253-4-5),  complete  all  that  is  notable  in  this  room. 

Room  VIII. 

In   the   next   Room,   VIII.,   the   important   work   is   the 
Annunciation   by  Francia,  a  delightful   picture,  which  has, 


io6  MILAN 

however,  been  very  much  cleaned.  It  is  very  quiet  and 
simple  in  its  idea,  full  of  delightful  open  space,  and  with  a 
charming  landscape  in  the  distance  (334)-  There  is  a 
picture  by  the  Ferrarese  Dosso  Dossi  in  the  same  room  (333), 
and  some  strong,  powerful  works  by  Guido,  but  there  is 
nothing  else  that  need  detain  us. 

Room  IX. 

Room  IX.  contains  a  sunny  bright  Rembrandt  (449). 

Eoom  X.,  a  good  Rubens,  and  a  noteworthy  Van  Dyck  of 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua  with  the  Madonna  and  Child,  but  you 
do  not  come  to  Italy  to  learn  about  the  Flemish  masters. 

In  Room  XI.  you  will  find  the  later  masters,  Domenichino, 
Parmigiano,  and  others,  but  I  shall  not  advise  you  to  spend 
any  time  with  them.  The  Crivelli  in  the  Oggioni  Gallery  we 
have  already  seen,  and  in  this  room  there  are  some  more 
fine  works  by  Luini.  A  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Anna, 
which  you  will  examine  as  you  leave  the  gallery,  and  then 
we  shall  consider  we  have  seen  all  the  pictures  that  are 
deserving  of  special  attention  in  the  Brera  Gallery. 

There  are  yet  two  more  galleries  to  be  seen  in  Milan, 
which  you  must  not  miss,  one  of  which,  the  Poldi-Pezzoli 
Gallery  is  the  most  important  gallery  for  Milanese  pictures 
in  the  city.  It  is  in  the  Via  Morone,  a  side  street,  which 
connects  the  Corso  Vittorio  Emanuele  with  the  Via  Ales- 
sandro  Manzoni.  As  you  leave  the  Brera  you  will  walk 
down  the  Via  San  Giuseppe  into  the  Via  Alessandro  Manzoni, 
cross  the  road,  and  turn  down  the  Via  Morone.  It  is  not 
more  than  eight  minutes'  walk  from  either  the  Duomo  or 
the  Brera.  The  collection  was  formed  by  the  late  Cav. 
Giacomo  Poldi-Pezzoli,  who  bequeathed  it  to  his  native  town, 
and  it  is  one  of  those  choice  collections  of  fine  things  that 
could  only  have  been  brought  together  by  a  man  of  good 
means  and  excellent  taste.  It  has  -jttst-  recently  been  re- 
arranged by  Dr.  Gustavo  Frizzoni,  and  the  new  catalogue  is 
not  yet  issued,  and  there  are  only  hand  lists  in  the  various 


MILANESE   ART  107 

rooms  to  denote  what  the  pictures  are.  The  old  catalogues, 
which  are  still  on  sale,  are  useless  save  for  reference,  and 
there  is  no  guide-book  which  describes  the  rooms  as  they 
are  now  arranged,  so  that  I  will  give  you  a  short  guide  to 
each  room  without  entering  into  full  descriptions.  I  have 
added  the  old  numbers  to  the  pictures,  in  case  you  possess 
one  of  the  old  catalogues  and  want  to  use  it,  or  to  refer  to 
other  guide-books. 

Room  I.  Fine  Oriental  carpets,  tapestry,  and  one  good 
picture  (50),  Madonna  and  Child  with  three  saints,  by 
Ippolito  Costa  of  Mantua. 

Room  II.  A  portrait  by  Domenichino  (56),  of  a  Cardinal, 
and  some  beautiful  Oriental  stuffs. 

Room  III. 

A  most  lovely  portrait  by  Piero  della  Francesca  (21),  quite 
one  of  the  greatest  treasures  in  the  gallery.  Notice  how 
exquisitely  the  eye  is  painted,  how  lovely  the  hair  is,  and 
what  a  perfect  outline  is  given  to  the  face.  It  is  a  simple 
convincing  likeness,  and  one  of  the  most  charming  that  can 
be  conceived.  Authorities  differ  as  to  whether  it  was 
painted  by  Piero,  but  I  do  not  know  of  any  other  man  who 
could  have  produced  so  fine  a  portrait  at  the  time  that  this 
was  painted.     It  represents  the  wife  of  Joannes  de  Bardi. 

In  the  same  room  is  a  Botticelli  (17),  authentic,  but  very 
much  restored,  representing  the  Madonna  and  Child  ;  and, 
near  the  entrance,  a  fine  work  by  Bocatis,  which  is  worth 
attention. 

This  room  also  contains  some  splendid  china,  both 
Oriental,  Dresden,  Capodi  Monti,  Chelsea,  Wedgewood, 
Derby,  Vienna,  and  Berlin,  some  remarkable  bronzes,  some 
superb  Oriental  ware  mounted  in  ormolu,  and  in  a  case  in 
the  centre  many  examples  of  enamel,  and  notably  two 
enamel  paxes,  some  specimens  of  niello-work  of  great  rarity, 
and  the  hood  of  a  cope  of  very  rich  work. 


io8  MILAN 


Room  IV. 


Room  I V.  contains  the  great  Flemish  altar-piece  that  is 
one  of  the  glories  of  the  place,  and  which  is  attributed  to 
Quinton  Matsys.  The  Annunciation  is  in  the  centre,  and  on 
the  right  are  four  saints,  St.  Gregory,  St.  Anthony  the 
Abbot,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and  St.  John  Baptist,  and  on 
the  left,  the  two  St.  Catherines,  St.  Francis,  and  St.  Jerome. 
Close  to  it  hangs  (24)  a  figure  of  a  saint  by  Luca  Signor- 
elli,  a  fine  figure,  full  of  movement  and  swing  ;  beyond  it  is  a 
St.  Catherine,  by  Borgognone,  very  pallid  ;  and  then  a  charm- 
ing little  triptych,  over  which  controversy  has  waged  for  some 
time.  It  has  been  attributed  to  different  persons  in  turn,  but 
now  Dr.  Frizzoni  has  pronounced  it  to  belong  to  Mariotto 
Bertinelli,  and  to  have  been  painted  in  1500.  In  the  centre 
is  the  Annunciation  in  grisaille,  and  on  either  side  are  St. 
Catherine  and  St.  Barbara.  In  this  same  room  are  some 
early  enamels,  notably  a  twelfth-century  chasse  and  cross, 
and  a  thirteenth-century  chasse  and  censer.  There  is  also 
some  good  Venetian  glass. 


First  Picture  Room. 

We  now  enter  the  first  picture  room. 

1.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Cesare  Tamaroccio,  the 
only  signed  work  known  to  exist  by  this  rare  Bolognese 
master  (136). 

2.  Deposition  from  the  Cross,  by  the  school  of  Botti- 
celU  (35). 

3.  The  Meeting  of  the  \'irgin  and  Elizabeth,  by  Antonio 
Pirri(i4o). 

4.  Not  yet  in  position. 

5.  Madonna  and  Child  with  angels  and  saints,  a  Brescian 
work  that  has  been  attributed  to  Moretto  (142). 

6.  An  Allegory,  by  Giulio  Campi  (48). 

7.  A  Portrait  of  a  Noble  Youth,  by  Salviati  (73). 

8.  St.  Michael,  by  Moroni  (44). 


MILANESE   ART  109 

9.  An  unknown  Florentine  work,  representing  the  Nativity, 
signed  1501,  Luce  OPVS  (75). 

10.  A  very  lovely  Woman,  by  Palma  (144). 

11.  A  Young  Man,  by  the  school  of  Botticelli  (62;. 

Room  II. 

1.  Samson  and  Delilah  by  the  school  of  Michele  da 
Verona  (146),  with  a  false  signature  of  Carpaccio  upon  it. 

2.  St.  Sebastian,  by  Antonio  Pirri  (67),  signed. 

3.  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  by  Moroni  (79). 

4.  Martyrdom  of  St.  Sebastian,  by  the  school  of  Lorenzo 
Credi  (97). 

5.  Madonna  and  Child  with  angels,  by  the  school  of 
Verrocchio  (64). 

6.  A  Crucifixion,  by  an  unknown  artist  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

7.  A  Saint,  by  the  Murano  school  (37). 

8.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Ambrogio  Lorenzetti  (113). 

9.  A  Pietk,  by  the  school  of  Verona. 

10.  A  Pietk,  by  the  school  of  Filippo  Lippi  (148). 

11.  St.  Apollonia,  by  the  school  of  Murano. 

12.  Madonna  enthroned  with  Child,  by  Vivarini  ;  notice 
the  rich  raised  work  and  the  gorgeous  Venetian  colour- 
ing  (83). 

13  and  14.  Saints,  by  the  school  of  Murano  (39  and  41). 

15.  An  Annunciation,  by  Palmezzano. 

16.  A  Hermit,  by  Stefano  da  Zenio. 

17  and  18.  Saints,  by  the  school  of  Murano  (40). 

19.  An  Annunciation,  by  an  unknown  artist  of  the  four- 
teenth century. 

20.  The  Crucifixion,  a  fourteenth-century  work  (132). 

21.  Madonna  and  Child  enthroned  with  two  saints. 
Early  Sienese  work  (143). 

22.  An  Allegory  of  Charity,  an  interesting  work,  by 
Cosimo  Tura,  or  of  his  school  (94). 

23.  A  ver)'  dignified  Figure  of  a  Friar,  by  Fra  Barto- 
lomeo  (131). 


no  MILAN 

24.  Si.  Anthony  of  Padua,  by  Francia,  a  charming  little 
work  (114). 

25.  A  Saint,  by  Cosimo  Tura. 

26.  A  Madonna  and  Child  with  two  angels,  by  Perugino. 

Room  III. — Venetian  Work. 

1.  Portrait  of  a  Venetian  Senator,  by  Vittore  Carpaccio 
(127). 

2.  St.  Bernardino  of  Siena,  by  a  Paduan  artist  (76). 

3.  Madonna  enthroned  with  the  Divine  Child,  by  Fogo- 
lino  (93). 

4.  Portrait  of  a  Man,  by  Cordegliaghi. 

5.  Portrait  of  a  Gentleman,  by  Girolamo  da  Santa  Croce, 
a  pupil  of  Bellini  (18). 

6.  A  very  Giorgionesque  work,  by  Carriani,  representing 
Madonna  and  Child  with  saint  (133). 

7.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  the  school  of  Domenico  Moroni 
(108). 

8.  A  Sick  Person  visited  by  a  Physician,  by  Bonifacio  (99). 

9.  Madonna  and  Child,  St.  John  Baptist,  and  a  Prophet, 
by  Lorenzo  Lotto  (86). 

10.  St.  Jerome,  by  Montagna  (98). 

11.  St.  Paul,  by  the  same  artist  (100). 

12.  The  Flagellation  of  Our  Lord,  by  an  unknown  artist 
of  the  sixteenth  century  (107)- 

13.  Madonna  seated,  being  crowned  by  two  angels,  and 
holding  the  Divine  Child,  cherubs  playing  on  various 
instruments  near  by,  by  Alvise  Vivarini  (i47)- 

14.  A  touching  pathetic  Pieth,  by  Giovanni  Bellini,  signed 

(149)- 

15.  Head  of  a  Youthful  Saint,  by  Cima. 

16.  The  Blood  of  Christ  received  by  St.  Francis,  by  Carlo 
Crivelli  (20). 

17.  St.  Sebastian,  by  the  same  artist  (78). 

18.  A  Pietk,  by  an  early  Muranese  artist,  possibly 
Vivarini  (22). 

19.  The  Madonna,  by  Montagna  (122). 


MILANESE   ART  in 

20.  The  Head  of  a  Saint,  by  Bonsignori  (m). 

21.  Portrait  of  a  Man,  by  the  same  artist  {77). 

Room  IV.— Lombard  Work. 

JV.B. — This  is  the  most  important  room  for  you. 

1.  St.  John  Baptist,  by  Solario. 

2.  Ecce  Homo,  a  very  sad  picture,  by  Andrea  Solario 
(106). 

3.  St.  Anthony  the  Abbot,  by  the  same  artist. 

4.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Bernardino  da  Conti,  or  the 
Umbrian  school  (112). 

5.  Madonna  and  Child  with  two  angels,  by  Borgognone, 
unmistakable  from  the  gold  background  and  the  \-ery  pallid 
faces  (121}. 

6.  A  stern  portrait  of  Francesco  Brivio,  by  Ambrogio  de' 
Predis  (19). 

7.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Boltraffio,  a  very  attractive 
work  (109). 

8.  A  hard  statuesque  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Foppa,  very 
characteristic  (31). 

9.  St.  Sebastian,  by  Marco  da  Oggiono,  quite  without 
feeUng  (124). 

10.  A  Holy  Family  with  two  angels,  by  Andrea  Salaino 

11.  The  Nativity,  a  fifteenth-century  Lombard  work,  by 
an  unknown  man  (92). 

12.  Madonna  and  Child,  in  the  manner  of  Gaudenzio 
Ferrari. 

13.  The  Madonna,  by  Gian  Petrino.  On  the  reverse  of 
this  is  another  work — A  Lesson  in  Geometry  (84  h's). 

14.  The  Appearance  of  the  Madonna  to  Ludovico  il  Moro, 
Milanese  fifteenth-century  work. 

1 5.  Virgin  and  Child  with  saint,  by  Gaudenzio  Ferrari. 

16.  Virgin  and  Child,  by  the  same  artist. 

17.  St.  Jerome,  a  youthful  work  by  Luini  (85). 

18.  St.  John  the  Baptist,  by  Andrea  Solario,  signed,  and 
dated  1499,  a  fragment  of  a  larger  work  (26). 


112  MILAN 

19.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  Borgognone  (134). 

20.  The    Rest    in   Egypt    (signed   Andreas    de    Solario 
Mediolanensis  anno  151 5),  by  Andrea  Solario  (130). 

21.  The  Annunciation,  a  Lombard  work  by  an  un- 
known master  (91). 

22.  St.  Catherine  with  her  Wheel,  by  Andrea  Solario  (29). 

23.  Madonna  and  Child,  by  the  same  Artist  (128). 

^     24.  Christ  with  the  Cross  and  the  Madonna,  by  Luini,  a 
very  fine  work  (125). 

25.  A  Madonna,  by  Boltraffic 

26.  St.  Stephen,  by  an  unknown  Lombard  artist  (129). 

27.  St.  Jerome,  by  the  same  (120). 

28.  The  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine,  a  delightful  work,  by 
Luini  (16). 

29.  Not  yet  in  position. 

30.  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  by  an  unknown  Lombard  artist 

(135). 

31.  St.  Ambrose,  by  the  same  (119). 

32.  Madonna  and  Child  with  a  lamb,  by  that  noted  copyist 
of  the  ideas  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Cesare  da  Sesto  (138). 

33  and  34.  Four  Doctors  of  the  Church,  by  the  Lombard 
school  (i 37-141). 

35.  Tobit  and  the  Angel,  by  a  follower  or  pupil  of  Luini. 
The  original  drawing  from  \\'hich  this  is  done  is  in  the 
Ambrosiana  (84). 

In  a  room  by  the  entrance  are  five  rugged  works  by 
Tiepolo,  which  are  interesting  ;  six  by  Guardi,  a  portrait  by 
Ribera  the  Spaniard,  four  other  Spanish  works,  and  two 
curious  reliefs  in  plaster. 

The  Ambrosiana,  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  is 
almost  the  only  important  sight  that  we  ha\-e  left  to  see  in 
Milan. 

It  is  a  Library  and  picture  gallery,  which  was  founded  in 
1609  by  Cardinal  Federigo  Borromeo,  who  was  Archbishop 
of  Milan.  It  is  open  every  day,  but  on  Wednesdays  the 
pictures  can  be  seen  without  fee.  The  Library  is  a  very 
important  one,  and  contains  a  good  collection  of  ancient 


MILANESE  ART  113 

works,  including  some  of  unusual  rarity  and  value,  in  all 
nearly  2oo,0(X)  in  number.  It  is  open  to  the  use  of  scholars, 
and  every  courtesy  is  shown  to  those  who  come  from  a 
distance  and  desire  to  consult  its  treasures.  The  librarians 
are  men  of  learning  and  culture  and  take  the  greatest 
pains  to  assist  all  who  make  use  of  the  Library,  but  it  is 
essentially  a  place  for  scholars,  and  to  the  general  reader  or 
casual  student  is  of  no  service. 

In  printed  books  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  is  wonderfully 
rich,  and  contains  perfect  copies  of  many  works  which  can 
be  consulted  in  other  libraries  in  Europe  only  in  an  im- 
perfect condition. 

One  of  its  greatest  features  is  its  collection  of  ancient 
manuscripts,  especially  some  which  go  back  to  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries,  and  are  written  in  early  Celtic  char- 
acters in  Gaelic  and  in  Erse.  Besides  these  there  is  a 
great  collection  of  Palimpsests— ancient  MSS.  upon  vellum 
from  which  the  characters  of  an  earlier  MS.  have  been 
partly  effaced,  and  from  which  many  important  fragments 
of  the  Classics  have  been  published.  Here  also  can  be 
seen  one  of  the  volumes  containing  the  drawings  of  Leonardo 
da  Vinci,  the  remaining  thirteen  volumes  of  the  series 
having  been  stolen  by  the  French  and  retained  in  Paris 
after  the  treaty  of  peace. 

The  autograph  letters  from  Ariosto,  Tasso,  Galileo, 
Petrarch,  and  Lucrezia  Borgia  are  of  interest  to  those  who 
care  for  these  things,  but  the  most  important  sight  to  be 
seen  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  building  is  the  Sala  della 
Santa  Corona,  which  contains  the  great  **fresco  by  Luini. 

You  will  enter  this  hall  from  one  of  the  Library  passages 
and  the  fresco  covers  the  entire  end  of  the  room.  It  was 
painted  for  the  Confraternity  of  the  Holy  Crown,  a 
charitable  society  which  still  exists  in  Milan,  although  under 
altered  form,  and  which  met  regularly  in  this  room  for  its 
consultations  and  to  discuss  the  arrangements  to  be  made 
for  relieving  the  sick  poor,  which  was  one  of  the  chief  con- 
cerns of  the  Confraternity.  In  order  that  the  symbol  of 
the  Order  might  be  always  kept  in  view  and  the  members 


114  MILAN 

might  remember  and  strive  to  imitate  the  humihty,  patience, 
and  compassion  of  the  Redeemer,  this  fresco  was  painted 
in  1522,  and  Luini  never  did  a  more  impressive  work. 

It  is  a  magnificent  devotional  picture,  and  the  central 
figure,  placed  upon  a  regal  height,  is  indescribably  fine. 
The  fresco  is  divided  into  three  parts,  which  are  separated 
by  crown-wreathed  pillars  supporting  the  roof  under  which 
the  dread  tragedy  is  being  enacted.  In  the  centre  is  the 
majestic  figure  of  the  Redeemer  seated  upon  a  throne 
raised  above  three  steps.  His  hands  are  bound,  He  is 
crowned  with  a  terrible  crown  of  thorns,  and  His  face  is 
that  of  a  patient,  dignified  sufferer  content  to  endure  the 
pain  and  cruelty  that  He  may  open  the  door  of  the  king- 
dom. Around  Him  is  a  crowd  of  violent  and  merciless 
executioners,  who  are  striking  Him,  jeering  at  Him,  and 
insulting  Him  in  every  way.  Above  are  wondering  angels, 
overwhelmed  with  sorrow  and  unable  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  this  most  mysterious  scene  of  suffering.  The 
other  two  compartments  of  the  picture  beyond  the  dividing 
columns  have  each  in  the  foreground  six  kneeling  figures 
of  men,  probably  important  office-bearers  in  the  Confra- 
ternity in  the  time  of  the  donors  of  the  work.  Their  faces 
are  full  of  dignity  and  power  ;  it  is  quite  evident  that  they  are 
all  portraits,  and  they  are  masterly  in  conception,  in  beauty, 
and  in  strength.  These  twelve  figures  are  really  so  grand, 
that  unfortunately  they  take  away  the  attention  from  the 
central  figure  on  the  throne.  Above  these  kneeling  figures 
are  other  groups,  St.  John  the  Divine  pointing  out  the 
scene  to  Our  Lady,  and  on  the  left,  other  figures  drawing 
attention  to  the  tragedy  that  is  transpiring.  Above  each 
group  hangs  the  crown  of  thorns,  beyond  is  a  hilly  land- 
scape, and  at  the  very  back  is  a  cavern  in  which  St.  Peter 
is  depicted  kneeling.  Above  the  fresco  are  the  words, 
CAPVT  REGIS  GLORIAE  SPINIS  CORONATVR. 

Upstairs  are  the  pictures  of  which  there  is  no  catalogue. 

Rooms  I.  and  II.  contain  engravings  only 


MILANESE    ART  115 

Room  III. 

Room  III.  has  three  notable  works. 

54.  A  Borgognone  of  the  Madonna  and  Child  with  four 
donors  and  four  female  saints.  The  grouping  is  remarkably 
good,  and  the  gold  background  and  pallid  countenances  very 
characteristic. 

Near  it  is  a  little  Francia  representing  the  Almighty 
Father,  and  near  to  that  is  a  work,  ascribed  to  Botticelli,  of 
Madonna,  Infant  Christ,  and  Angels,  of  extraordinary  power 
and  beauty,  which  I  am  quite  disposed  to  accept  as  a  genuine 
work  by  the  master  himself 

In  the  little  room  leading  out  of  this  room  and  in  the  one 
beyond  it  there  is  nothing  that  need  detain  us. 

Room  IV. 

The  next  room  contains  a  great  treasure,  the  Cartoon, 
by  Raphael,  for  his  "School  of  Athens"  in  the  Vatican, 
a  very  interesting  work  in  black  chalk  on  grey  paper.  It 
should  be  compared  by  you  with  a  good  photograph  of  the 
finished  fresco  in  order  that  the  changes  made  by  the  artist 
may  be  recognised-  They  are  not  very  many  in  number, 
but  are  of  the  greatest  importance,  as  in  almost  each  instance 
they  take  the  form  of  additions  to  the  original  idea,  and 
such  additions  as  greatly  improved  the  scheme  of  the  artist. 
Four  figures  are  added  to  the  original  drawing,  and  in  every 
case  greatly  to  its  advantage. 

In  this  room  there  are  also  some  interesting  pictures. 
""28 1  is  the  Holy  Family,  by  Luini,  which  is  the  only  work 
done  by  that  artist  that  can  be  said  to  be  a  copy  of  the  work 
of  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  This  picture  is  evidently  taken  from 
the  cartoon  by  Leonardo  that  now  hangs  in  the  Royal 
Academy  in  London,  but  Luini  has  added  the  figure  of 
St.  Joseph  to  the  group  in  order  to  prevent  its  being  a  copy 
of  another  man's  work,  and  has  in  this  way  somewhat  im- 
proved the  balance  of  the  composition. 

283  is  a^very  lovely  Luini,  a  half-length  figure  of  Christ 


Il6  MILAN 

"/  ^ ./ 
clad  in  a  whi^e  robe,  and  having  His  hand  upraised  in  the 

attitude  of  benediction.     His  hair  is  long  and  curly,  and 

falls  on  to  His  shoulders. 

**284  is  an  exceedingly  sweet  picture,  but  very  much 
damaged.  It  is  one  of  Luini's  most  attractive  works,  and 
represents  St.  John  the  Baptist  playing  with  a  lamb,  and 
leaning  his  head  against  the  body  of  the  lamb^  :'.-/-'^'-<y  ''Cc 

272  is  an  interesting  work  by  Bramantino. 

269  is  a  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  John  the  Baptist 
which  is  ascribed  to  Luini,  but  a  part  of  which  only  is  the 
work  of  the  master,  and  the  remainder  is  the  work  of  some 
pupil. 

261  is  by  Boltraffio,  and  is  of  two  lovely  heads. 

262  is  an  important  drawing  by  Gaudenzio  Ferrari. 

263,  a  drawing  by  Luini,  and  then  on  the  other  side  or 
the  door  is  the  original  drawing  in  Indian  ink,  heightened 
with  white,  for  the  picture  of  Tobit  and  his  father  and  the 
angel,  which  we  saw  in  the  Poldi-Pezzoli  Gallery.  This 
drawing  is  certainly  by  Luini,  but  the  picture  is  not  his  work. 
An  interesting  Presentation  by  Tiepolo  near  by,  and  a  fine 
Bassano  deserve  attention,  and  on  two  stands  are  some 
admirable  drawings  by  Leonardo.  The  next  room  is 
full  of  drawings  by  various  masters,  but  I  have  no  means 
of  telling  you  about  them  as  they  are  not  grouped  or 
numbered,  and  there  is  no  catalogue  of  them.  They 
will  all  repay  attention,  and  amongst  them  you  will  find 
a  lovely  one  by  Mantegna,  a  part  of  the  Triumph  of 
Cassar,  and  several  by  the  Lombard  artists,  including 
beside  Luini,  Cesare  da  Sesto,  Boltraffio,  and  Bernardino 
dei  Conti. 

If  you  have  time  it  is  worth  while  going  on  a  Tuesday 
or  Friday  afternoon  (the  only  times  when  the  palace  is 
open  to  visitors)  to  the  Palazzo  Borromeo,  close  behind 
the  Ambrosiana,  as  the  building  is  interesting  and  some 
of  the  pictures  that  it  contains  are  important.  It  is  the 
only  remaining  example  in  Italy  of  the  Italian-Gothic  palaces 
that   once  abounded   in   the   city,  and    it  is  interesting  as 


MILANESE   ART  117 

having  belonged  to  the  family  by  whom  it  was  built  in  1444 
down  to  the  present  time. 

In  a  room  on  the  ground  floor  are  some  very  curious 
frescoes  belonging  to  the  early  sixteenth  century,  depict- 
ing games  and  other  diversions,  and  upstairs  are  the 
pictures.  The  most  notable  are  those  by  Luini,  who  was 
largel)-  employed  by  the  Borromeo  family,  but  they  are 
in  poor  condition  and  are  not  well  seen,  and  with  them 
there  are  several  works  by  his  pupils  which  should  be 
separated  out  and  put  into  another  place.  The  rooms 
are  full  of  curious  odds  and  ends,  some  fine  things  and 
a  good  deal  of  rubbish,  but  there  is  no  attempt  at  arrange- 
ment, and,  in  fact,  the  rooms  are  just  as  they  have  been 
filled  by  the  family  in  the  course  of  many  years,  and  are 
only  shown  to  the  public  as  an  act  of  grace,  by  reason  of 
their  possessing  certain  fine  works  which  interest  students. 
The  house  is  occupied  by  the  family,  and  it  is  an  old 
retainer  who  is  in  charge  of  the  rooms  and  keeps  them 
dusted,  and  to  whom  it  is  well  to  give  a  small  gratuity, 
although  there  is  no  charge  for  admission. 

155.  A  fresco  of  the  head  of  the  Madonna  is  the  only 
work  by  Luini,  in  the  first  room,  but  51  is  a  Lombard 
work  ;  60  and  89,  a  Madonna  and  a  Holy  Family,  are 
very  Luinesque  in  character,  and  might  if  more  carefully 
examined  in  a  good  light  after  the  present  accumulation 
of  dirt  had  been  removed  from  them,  turn  out  to  be  genuine 
works  by  that  master.  18  is  by  Rubens,  and  156  is  a 
good  Venetian  picture. 

In  Room  II.,  25,  *Madonna  and  Child  ;  47,  ^Salome  bear- 
ing the  Head  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  68  (which  stands 
out  in  the  room),  Susanna  and  the  Elders,  are  all  by  Luini, 
and  deserve  attention.  The  Susanna  is  a  very  fine  work, 
and  the  head  of  the  old  bearded  man  by  the  tree  is 
supposed  to  be  that  of  Luini  himself. 

**  36  is  a  very  lovely  small  work  by  Pinturrichio,  signed 
and  dated  141 4,  having  the  same  border  to  it  which  appears 
upon  the  famous  frescoes  in  the  Library  at  Siena. 

39.  The  Marriage  at  Cana  is  attributed  to  Mantegna,  and 


ii8  MILAN 

is  a  delightftil  picture.  41  is  a  Virgin  and  Child,  by  Bor- 
gognone,  and  near  by  are  some  other  pieces  of  what  has 
evidently  been  in  its  time  a  complete  altar-piece.  72  is 
by  Boltraffio. 

The  third  room  contains  a  good  many  drawings,  but 
none  of  them  are  of  supreme  importance.  There  are  also 
some  autograph  letters  from  artists,  including  Rubens, 
Guido,  Poussin,  Vasari,  and  Borgognone,  which  might, 
if  examined,  yield  some  important  information  as  to  the 
lives  and  historv  of  these  great  men. 


F.  EXCURSIONS 

There  are  many  excursions  that  you  can  take  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Milan,  if  you  have  time  to  spare,  but  there 
is  one  that  you  are  bound  to  take  ere  you  leave  for  another 
town.  The  Certosa  of  Pavia  is  so  superlatively  fine  that 
to  miss  it  would  be  a  very  serious  error,  and  one  which  I 
beg  you  will  not  make.     * 

You  can,  if  you  like,  go  to  Saronno,  and  see  some  very 
fine  work  by  Luini  and  Gaudenzio  Ferrari,  and  if  you  have 
time  the  excursion  is  one  well  worth  taking.  There  is  only 
one  church  to  visit,  and  it  is  close  to  the  railway  station, 
and  in  a  morning  you  can  go  to  Saronno,  see  the  church, 
and  return  by  midday.  The  church  is  called  the  Santuario 
della  Vergine  and  is  an  effective,  handsome  building. 
The  interior  of  the  cupola  is  decorated  by  Gaudenzio, 
and  the  subject  is  the  heavenly  host  playing  upon  various 
instruments.  It  is  a  grand  conception,  worthily  carried  out, 
and  Ferrari  is  seen  at  his  very  best  in  this  work.  The 
colouring  is  rich  and  fine  and  the  composition  is  superb. 

Near  to  the  choir  are  four  splendid  **  frescoes  by  Luini 
representing  the  Marriage  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  Christ  Dis- 
puting with  the  Doctors,  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple, 
and  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

Below  the  drum  of  the  dome  are  two  fine  figures  of  St. 
Roch  and  St.  Sebastian,  and  in  the  apse  of  the  choir  are 


EXCURSIONS  119 

two  standing  figures  of  St.  Apollonia  and  St.  Catherine, 
whilst  outside,  in  the  passage  leading  to  the  priests'  house,  is 
one  of  the  very  loveliest  things  that  the  artist  ever  did— a 
"'^*  lunette  depicting  the  Nativity. 

These  frescoes  will  delight  you,  as  they  are  specially 
fine  and  are  in  excellent  condition,  and  to  see  them  the  time 
is  well  spent,  as  they  are  works  of  the  highest  merit. 

If  you  wish  to  see  the  finest  work  of  all  that  Luini  did 
you  must  go  out  another  morning  to  Legnano  and  see 
the  **  altar-piece  in  the  parish  church.  Choose  a  bright 
day,  as  the  picture  is  not  well  hung  and  can  only  be  seen 
sideways  ;  and  as  the  church  is  not  an  easy  one  to  find,  call 
first  at  the  Caffe  Mantegazza,  close  to  the  station,  and  you 
will  find  a  most  courteous  proprietor  who  speaks  English 
and  who  will  send  some  one  with  you  to  show  you  the  way. 
The  church  is  only  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  station,  and 
on  your  return  you  cannot  do  better  than  have  some  lunch 
at  the  Mantegazza  house  and  inspect  the  delightful  museum 
that  Signor  Mantegazza  has,  with  infinite  care,  brought 
together  in  one  of  his  rooms,  and  which  contains  many 
treasures  which  he  has  rescued  from  destruction,  and  which 
have  important  bearings  upon  the  history  of  his  little 
town. 

The  altar-piece  is  a  large  panel  depicting  the  Madonna 
and  Child,  surrounded  with  smaller  ones  on  which  are 
painted  figures  of  saints,  and  framed  in  by  a  large  lunette 
at  the  top  depicting  the  Almighty  Father,  and  by  a  predella 
at  the  base  of  nine  panels  wrought  with  most  wonderful 
skill.  The  whole  picture  is  of  rare  beauty,  certainly  the  best 
work  painted  by  that  fascinating  artist,  and  yet  one  which  is 
very  seldom  visited  and  deserves  to  be  much  better  known. 
You  can  see  it  and  return  to  Milan  in  the  afternoon  quite 
easily. 

Another  excursion  is  to  the  Cistercian  monastery  of 
Chiaravalle,  a  splendid  example  of  Lombard  architecture, 
standing  close  to  the  station  of  the  same  name,  and  having 
within  its  church  a  great  fresco  by  Luini,  of  much  beauty, 


120  MILAN 

some  splendid  stalls,  and  some  very  fine  tombs.  If  the 
trains  serve,  you  can  see  this  church  on  your  way  to  the 
Certosa  and  then  continue  your  journey  ;  or,  if  you  are  going 
to  Lodi  or  to  Piacenza,  you  can  take  it  on  the  way  and  see 
it  between  two  trains. 

Whatever  you  see,  however,  do  not  leave  unseen  the 
Certosa  di  Pavia.  You  had  better  go  to  the  Certosa  station 
by  rail,  or,  if  the  ■\\eather  is  fine,  you  can  go  from  Milan  all 
the  way  by  steam  tram  from  the  Porta  Ticinese.  Arrived  there 
you  can  walk  to  the  monastery  in  fifteen  minutes,  or  you  can 
take  a  carriage  for  a  very  small  sum  at  the  station,  as  there  are 
sure  to  be  some  vehicles  in  waiting.  (Do  not  go  on  to 
Pavia  station,  but  get  out  at  the  Certosa  station.)  You 
will  arrive  at  the  most  splendid  monastery'  in  the  world,  and 
cannot  fail  to  be  delighted  with  what  you  see. 

The  monastery  is  now  a  public  monument  under  the 
care  of  the  Government,  and  the  monks  have  been  driven 
out  of  their  lovely  home,  and  you  will  therefore  be  escorted 
round  the  building  by  an  official  guide,  who  will  point  out 
to  you  the  chief  objects  of  interest.  The  building  was 
founded  in  1396,  by  Gian  Galeazzo  Visconti,  as  an  atone- 
ment or  penance  for  the  imprisonment  and  murder  of  the 
infamous  Barnabo  Visconti,  of  whom  I  have  already  told 
you.  Gian  Galeazzo,  you  will  remember,  dethroned  Barnabo, 
whose  tomb  you  saw  in  the  Castello,  imprisoned  him,  and 
eventually  put  him  to  death,  and  he  was  then  ordered  by 
the  Church,  as  an  act  of  expiation,  to  found  a  monastery,  and 
he  determined  that  it  should  be  as  sumptuous  as  he  could 
make  it.  He  is  himself  buried  within  its  walls,  and  you  will 
see  his  tomb.  Visconti  and  those  who  succeeded  him  spared 
no  pains  to  make  the  building  as  fine  as  it  could  possibly  be 
and  employed  all  the  artists  of  Lombardy  upon  its  decora- 
tion. There  is  not  space  enough  in  this  book  for  a  full 
description  of  the  building,  and  you  will  do  well  to  buy  the 
admirable  little  book  that  Signor  Beltrami  has  written 
about  it  and  peruse  that  when  you  have  been  round  the 
place.     The  west  front  was  the  work  of  Giovanni  Omodeo, 


EXCURSIONS  r2i 

but  is  said  to  have  been  done  from  the  designs  of  Borgognone. 
The  reliefs  on  the  entrance  doorway  are  well  worth  examina- 
tion, as  they  depict  the  foundation  of  the  house,  the  granting 
of  the  charter  by  Pope  Alexander  III.,  the  consecration 
of  the  building,  and  the  funeral  of  the  founder  in  1433. 
Passing  through  this  splendid  door,  you  enter  the  famous 
church.  The  guide  starts  on  the  left  side  in  his  progress 
round  the  church,  taking  you  from  chapel  to  chapel.  In  the 
second  chapel  once  hung  the  splendid  altar-piece  by  Perugino 
that  is  now  at  the  National  Gallery,  and  in  place  of  it  there 
are  now  copies  of  the  original  pictures  in  the  centre  and  two 
side  wings.  The  panel  in  the  centre  of  the  upper  row, 
representing  the  Almighty  Father  holding  a  globe,  is,  how- 
ever, original,  and  is  the  only  piece  left  of  the  altar-piece  in 
the  chapel.  The  four  doctors  that  are  now  on  either  side 
are  by  Borgognone. 

In  the  sixth  chapel  on  this  same  side  is  a  fine  *  altar-piece 
of  St.  Ambrose  with  other  saints,  by  Borgognone  ;  an  ex- 
cellent work  of  fine  colour  and  characteristic  pallid  faces. 

You  will  notice  in  each  chapel  as  you  pass  what  splendid 
marble  was  used,  and  how  exquisitely  each  altar  was  inlaid 
with  pietra-dura  work,  and  how  \'ery  fine  and  costly  are  the 
columns  of  marble  that  adorn  the  sides  of  the  altars.  Each 
chapel  has  a  good  picture  as  its  altar-piece,  but  I  have  only 
drawn  attention  to  the  two  important  ones. 

Coming  out  then  from  this  series  of  chapels,  we  enter  the 
transept,  and  in  front  of  us  is  the  *  tomb  of  Ludovico  il 
Moro,  and  his  wife  Beatrice  d'Este.  The  effigy  of  Beatrice 
was  ordered  by  her  husband  in  1497,  when  she  died  in 
Milan,  and  was  designed,  it  is  said,  by  Solario,  and  although 
she  was  buried  in  this  church,  the  monument  was  set  up  in 
the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  delle  Grazie,  with  the  decoration  of 
which  Ludovico  was  so  intimately  concerned.  In  1508, 
Ludovico  died  and  his  effigy  was  added  to  the  tomb,  but 
the  whole  was  not  removed  to  the  Certosa  till  1564.  It 
is  a  splendid  tomb,  and  in  the  richest  manner  of  the 
Renaissance.  Near  it  are  two  fine  candelabra,  and  above 
in  the  apse  is  a  splendid  fresco  by  Bramantino. 


122  MILAN 

At  the  opposite  end  is  the  *  tomb  of  the  founder,  Gian 
Galeazzo,  and  this  also  had  a  curious  history. 

Gian  Galeazzo  died  near  Milan,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Cathedral  in  that  city  in  1402.  In  1442  his  body  was 
removed  to  the  Certosa,  but  no  tomb  was  set  up  over  it  and 
the  present  monument  was  not  commenced  until  1490,  and 
not  completed  till  1 562.  By  this  time  all  knowledge  of  the 
position  of  the  grave  had  perished,  and,  therefore,  when  the 
tomb  was  actually  erected  in  the  Certosa,  there  was  no 
tradition  as  to  where  the  grave  of  the  great  founder  really 
was,  and  the  tomb  was  placed  in  the  transept  as  a  suitable 
position  for  it. 

The  monument  is  an  extremely  rich  one,  having  a  superb 
canopy  over  the  recumbent  statue,  and  upon  it  six  reliefs 
representing  the  most  noteworthy  events  in  the  life  of  the 
ruler. 

Close  by  the  tomb,  in  the  vault  of  the  apse,  is  another 
fresco,  by  Eorgognone,  as  in  the  opposite  apse,  and  this 
one  represents  Gian  Galeazzo  kneeling,  and  surrounded 
by  his  children,  offering  to  the  Madonna  the  completed 
church. 

The  Old  Sacristy  and  the  New  Sacristy  are  close  at 
hand,  and  both  rooms  are  entered  by  very  fine  doors,  over 
which  are  wonderful  reliefs.  In  the  New  Sacristy  there  is  a 
*  Luini  of  St.  Martin  dividing  his  Cloak  with  the  Beggar, 
which  is  over  the  door  ;  and  in  the  Old  Sacristy  is  a  paint- 
<  ing  of  St.  Augustine  by  Borgognone.  The  choir  which  is 
between,  is  entered  by  splendid  doors,  which  are  worth  ex- 
amination, and  which  are  covered  with  reliefs  depicting  the 
chief  events  of  the  life  of  St.  Bruno.  The  choir  itself  is  most 
gorgeous,  the  reliefs  on  the  walls,  the  rich  carving  in  marble 
all  around,  the  superb  carved  altar  rails,  the  bronze  cande- 
labra, all  being  of  glorious  beauty,  the  seated  children  in  the 
screen,  and  the  bronze  work  that  surrounds  them  being 
specially  wonderful.  Over  the  altar  is  a  splendid  tabernacle, 
and  close  to  it  some  magnificent  stained  glass  is  to  be 
noticed.  The  intarsia  work  in  the  stalls  of  the  choir  must 
not  be  overlooked. 


EXCURSIONS  123 

The  Lavatory  contains  a  grand  fountain  that,  like  every- 
thing else  in  this  treasure-house,  is  of  rare  beauty,  and 
opposite  to  it  is  another  work  by  Luini,  a  delightful  and 
very  attractive  Madonna  and  Child.  The  service-books  that 
are  exposed  to  view  in  the  New  Sacristy  must  not  be  over- 
looked, as  many  of  them  contain  most  lovely  miniatures,  and 
richly  decorated  borders  of  great  beauty.  The  little  cloister, 
called  the  Chiostro  della  Fontana  from  the  splendid  terra- 
cotta fountain  that  stands  on  one  side,  opens  out  of  the 
cloister,  and  is  of  fascinating  beauty.  It  is  composed  of 
fifty  round  arches,  and  on  the  terra-cotta  frieze  above  them 
are  children  playing  upon  musical  instruments.  The  door- 
way by  which  we  enter  is  a  masterpiece  of  carving  in 
marble. 

From  this  cloister  we  pass  into  the  Refectory,  with  its 
fine  woodwork  and  a  superb  cornice  round  the  room. 

Thence  we  pass  the  door  of  the  Library,  into  which 
visitors  are  not  admitted  without  a  special  order,  and  on 
into  the  G-reat  Cloister,  around  which  are  the  tiny  separate 
houses  in  each  of  which  dwelt  all  alone  a  Carthusian  monk. 
The  **Great  Cloister  is  of  brick,  and  is  unequalled  in  Italy, 
the  moulding  of  the  brickwork  being  of  the  greatest  beauty, 
and  the  view  of  the  church  seen  from  this  cloister  very  fine. 
There  is  an  exquisite  door  that  leads  from  it  into  a  pergola, 
and  on  all  hands  are  to  be  seen  evidence  of  the  determina- 
tion of  those  who  built  this  monastery  that  everything  was 
to  be  an  object  of  beauty.  Even  the  knockers  of  bronze 
that  adorn  the  doors  are  beautiful,  and  when  we  return  into 
the  church  and  have  passed  down  the  other  series  of  chapels 
and  can  walk  up  the  nave,  the  *great  metal  screen  will  be 
found  to  be  not  the  least  wonderful  of  all  the  works  of  art  in 
the  church.  The  combination  of  bronze,  iron,  and  brass  of 
which  it  is  composed,  makes  it  a  magnificent  object,  and 
seldom  did  metal  work  produce  so  grand  or  so  rich  an 
effect. 

As  we  return  down  that  second  series  of  chapels  on  the 
right  of  the  entrance,  a  lovely  fresco  of  a  Madonna  and 
Child  will   be  noticed  over  the  door  by   which  we  enter, 


124  MILAN 

that  is,  the  one  nearest  to  the  high  altar,  and  on  the  other 
side  of  the  same  door  a  similar  fresco  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Siena,  both  the  work  of  BorgOgnone.  In  the  next  chapel 
(sixth),  in  which  is  a  picture  by  Guercino,  the  pietra-dura 
altar  front  is  specially  well  worth  attention.  In  the  fifth 
chapel  is  another  fine  work  by  Borgognone,  who  can 
really  be  better  studied  in  this  Certosa  than  in  any  other 
building,  representing  St.  Sirus,  the  first  Bishop  of  Pavia, 
enthroned  with  St.  Stephen,  St.  Lawrence,  and  two  bishops, 
and  inscribed,  Sanctus  Sirus  Primus  Epis.  et  Patronus  Papie. 
In  the  next  chapel,  the  fourth,  is  a  very  lovely  **altar- 
piece  by  the  same  great  master,  representing  the  Cruci- 
fixion and  the  Maries  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross,  and 
with  many  angels  around.  This  is  signed  and  dated  1490, 
and  is  perhaps  the  finest  altar-piece  in  Certosa.  The  second 
chapel  has  an  altar-piece  in  which  his  hand  is  again  to  be 
seen.  The  central  part  of  the  picture  is  by  a  rare  and  most 
interesting  master,  Macrino  d'Alba,  a  man  of  little  imagina- 
tion, who  can  only  be  properly  studied  either  in  his  native 
town  of  Alba  or  in  the  gallery  in  Turin. 

This  is  his  earliest  altar-piece  known,  and  is  dated  1496, 
but  the  Resurrection  above  it  and  the  Evangelists  at  the 
wings  are  the  work  of  BorgOgnone. 

And  now  we  are  back  at  the  place  at  which  we  started, 
and  as  we  leave  the  Certosa  have  time  to  look  again  at  the 
porch,  and  admire  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  West  front, 
and  then  stroll  back  to  the  station,  obtaining  some  lunch 
if  we  need  it  rather  at  the  inn  near  to  the  station  than  at 
the  expensive  restaurant  close  to  the  Certosa,  and  then  back 
to  Milan,  arranging  to  leave  the  following  morning  for 
Verona. 


"^    1^3 


VERONA 

A.  INTRODUCTORY 

THE  main  feature  about  Verona  is  its  tom"bs.  In  no 
other  Italian  town  can  be  found  such  a  magnificent 
series  of  grand  tombs,  mostly  standing  out  of  doors, 
as  in  this  delightful  city.  Not  only  the  rulers,  but  the  nobility 
and  the  wealthy  traders  of  Verona  were  all  determined  to 
have  superb  monuments,  erecting  them  in  many  cases  during 
their  own  lives,  and  devoting  to  them  all  the  genius  and 
thought  and  skill  that  in  other  cities  were  given  to  the 
erection  of  churches,  or  to  the  painting  of  pictures,  or  to 
decoration.  The  group  of  Scaliger  tombs  that  we  shall  see 
in  this  city  is  quite  unrivalled  in  beauty  in  Europe,  while 
even  more  lovely  is  the  Castelfranco  tomb  at  St.  Anastasia's 
Church,  which  is  in  its  way  the  most  perfect  monument  in 
Italy. 

This  is  the  maui  feature  of  the  art  of  Verona,  and  we  shall 
notice  expressions  of  it  wherever  we  go  in  the  city,  and  in 
nowhere  else  save  in  Bologna  shall  we  see  this  love  of  fine 
out-of-door  monuments  carried  to  the  extent  that  it  is  here. 
The  next  thing  to  notice  in  Verona  is  that  its  position  is  so 
fine,  so  surprisingly  strong,  and  so  placed  as  regards  the 
Alps  that  the  city  has  always  been  a  fortified  place  from 
Roman  times  down  to  the  present,  and  that  it  has  had 
several  successive  series  of  fortifications  built  for  it,  the 
marks  of  which  still  remain.  We  shall  be  able  to  trace  its 
history  by  means  of  these  fortifications  easily,  and  then, 
lastly,  we  shall  find  in  Verona  churches  built  of  brick  that 
are  quite  unrivalled,  and  which  have  given  an  importance  to 


126  VERONA 

the  city  in  all  books  of  architecture,  and  which  draw  students 
to  admire  it  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  We  have,  there- 
fore, plenty  to  see  in  this  place  and  must  be  prepared  not  to 
hurry  over  our  sight-seeing,  but  to  do  it  leisurely  and  well. 


jB.  ROMAN  VERONA 

First  of  all  as  to  its  Roman  history,  and  to  visit  the  ** Arena 
its  greatest  Roman  monument.  As  you  enter  the  city  in 
the  omnibus  you  will  not  fail  to  see  this  great  Amphitheatre, 
which  you  are  bound  to  pass  on  your  way  into  the  town.  It 
is  a  most  impressive  erection,  perhaps  more  so  than  the  one 
in  Rome,  by  reason  of  the  perfect  condition  of  its  interior. 
Great  care  has  been  from  quite  early  times  bestowed  upon 
it,  and  it  has  been  the  duty  and  the  pride  of  each  chief 
magistrate,  from  the  thirteenth  century  downwards,  to  spend 
some  money  upon  this  splendid  old  ruin,  keeping  it  in  as 
good  condition  as  time  would  permit.  The  outer  part  was 
much  injured  on  two  occasions  by  earthquakes,  and  of  the 
external  arches  only  four  out  of  seventy-two  remain,  but  the 
inner  circle  is  complete.  The  most  imposing  view  of  the 
building  is  to  be  obtained  from  the  roof  of  a  neighbouring 
house,  when  the  vast  extent  of  the  erection  can  be  appreciated, 
but  as  you  will  probably  not  have  the  pleasure  of  this  sight, 
the  next  best  thing  is  to  enter  it  and  walk  all  around  it  from 
the  top  tier  of  seats.  It  is  nearly  one-third  of  a  mile  round, 
but  the  only  way  to  appreciate  this  distance  is  to  walk  it.  It 
will  hold  23,000  persons,  and  when  full,  must  have  been 
most  imposing  in  appearance.  I  am  not  given  to  details 
in  the  way  of  figures  in  this  book,  as  those  can  be  found  in 
other  guides,  but  I  think  it  is  needful  to  mention  these  to 
you  that  you  may  adequately  understand  the  magnificent 
proportions  of  the  place.  Let  your  companion  go  down  into 
the  middle  of  the  floor  space  and  then  regard  him  from  your 
position  on  the  top  and  you  will  see  how  vast  is  the  depth 
of  the  great  building,  and  yet  mark  how  easily,  how  well, 
every   person  could    see    the  spectacle  without  obstructing 


ROMAN    VERONA  127 

in  any  way  any  one  else  and  how  quickly  the  whole  place 
could  have  been  filled  or  emptied  of  its  spectators  by 
the  sixty-four  entrances  to  it.  If  it  happens  to  be  one  of 
the  occasions  of  public  rejoicing  when  you  are  in  Verona 
you  will  probably  see  the  old  Arena  full  of  people,  as  at 
times  it  is  still  used  in  the  summer  or  early  autumn  for 
exhibitions  of  feats  of  horsemanship,  or  for  spectacular  dis- 
plays, and  on  those  occasions  the  very  rare  treat  is  to  be 
welcomed  of  seeing  an  Arena  as  it  used  to  look  in  times  long 
past  when  crowded  with  a  demonstrative  audience.  You 
will,  however,  be  able  to  realise  in  your  own  mind,  even 
when  it  is  empty,  the  look  of  the  place  when  the  Roman 
Emperor  or  his  representative  sat  in  state,  and  when  gladia- 
torial conflicts  took  place  within  its  walls,  and  when  the  wild 
beasts  were  allowed  to  attack  the  defenceless  Christian 
martyrs  in  this  very  spot. 

After  remaining  for  some  time  within  these  stately  walls, 
pondering  over  their  history  and  the  greatness  of  the  nation 
that  built  them,  I  want  you  to  go  right  to  the  other  side  of 
city  to  see  the  remains  of  a  *Iloman  theatre  that  have 
been  discovered.  Ask  for  the  Ponte  Pietra,  which  is  an 
important  bridge  in  the  bend  of  the  river  Adige  which  flows 
all  around  the  city,  and  then,  crossing  this  bridge,  turn  off 
to  the  right  for  two  minutes'  walk,  asking  for  the  Teatro 
Antico.  You  will  be  sure  to  see  a  boy  who  will  gladly,  for  a 
penny,  fetch  the  good  woman  who  has  charge  of  this  ruin, 
and  she  will  show  it  to  you.  There  are  two  portions  of  it 
to  be  seen,  and  therefore  when  she  has  shown  you  one, 
do  not  go  away  as  if  you  had  seen  all,  but  follow  her  to 
another  door  not  far  off  and  then  underneath  the  houses 
you  will  see  a  more  important  part  of  the  building  that  has 
quite  recently  been  uncovered.  Altogether  there  is  not 
a  great  deal  to  be  seen,  but  some  of  the  rows  of  seats,  part 
of  the  stage  and  a  room  behind,  also  a  portion  of  what  is 
supposed  to  have  been  a  family  box,  as  it  still  bears  the 
name  of  its  owner  over  its  arch;  can  be  seen.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  notice  the  canals  by  which  the  water  for  nautical 
shows  was  introduced,  and  to  see  the  corridors  which  ran 


128  VERONA 

beneath  the  rows  of  stone  seats.  The  theatre  is  set  in  the 
side  of  a  hill  and  much  of  it  was  excavated  out  of  the 
rock,  and  the  natural  formation  of  the  hill  was  skilfully 
used  in  planning  the  building.  For  years  all  trace  of  the 
existence  of  this  place  was  lost,  and  it  was  re-discovered 
through  the  energy  of  a  Veronese  antiquary,  who  expended 
a  considerable  sum  some  thirty-five  years  ago  upon  buying 
and  pulling  down  the  houses  that  covered  the  site  and  in 
digging  out  all  that  can  be  seen  of  what  must  have  been  in 
its  time  a  very  important  theatre. 

From  these  ruins  I  want  you  to  retrace  your  steps  and  go 
back  into  the  town,  not  visiting  the  churches  that  are  so 
close  to  you  on  this  side  of  the  river,  but  coming  back  to 
inspect  some  more  remains  of  Roman  work,  not  forgetting 
however,  as  you  recross  the  river,  to  notice  how  beautiful 
the  city  looks  from  that  bridge,  and  how  splendidly  you  can 
see  the  fine  architecture  of  the  great  Church  of  St.  Anastasia 
that  stands  out  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Back 
we  come  into  the  Corso  Cavour  down  which  runs  the 
tramway,  and  then  crossing  the  street  we  shall  see  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Piazza  Borsari  the  archway  or  Porta  that  I 
have  brought  you  to  see.  We  are  now  looking  at  /afer 
Roman  work,  executed  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Gallienus, 
about  264,  and  forming  part  of  the  fortifications  that  I  have 
told  you  the  Romans  built  around  this  city.  This  is  the 
chief  entrance  gate  on  those  fortifications,  and  at  one  time 
it  had  upon  it  in  large  bronze  letters  an  inscription  com- 
memorating the  tyrant  who  caused  it  to  be  erected.  The 
letters  are  gone  long  ago,  but  from  the  marks  they  left 
behind  them  the  inscription  has  been  read.  The  arch  is  a 
double  one  and  curiously  unlike  in  its  architecture  the  plain 
stiff  dignity  that  marked  purer  Roman  work.  This  one 
has  pediments  over  the  archways,  and  similar  ones  higher 
up  over  the  smaller  arches  that  adorn  the  upper  part,  but  it 
is  an  impressive  grim  old  arch  standing  to  face  the  world. 
It  will  be  well  to  notice  marked  upon  it  a  date,  September 
17,  1882,  which  date  you  will  get  accustomed  to  seeing  in 


ROMAN    VERONA  129 

many  parts  of  the  cit}',  even  inside  the  churches.  It  marks 
the  highest  point  reached  by  the  waters  of  the  Adige  on  the 
occasion  of  the  greatest  flood  that  has  ever  happened  in 
the  history  of  the  city  ;  on  which  occasion,  owing  to  the  river 
being  choked  with  ice,  the  water  spread  all  over  the  city  to 
this  terrible  height  and  did  a  vast  amount  of  injury  to 
buildings  and  caused  much  suffering  and  distress.  Jump  in 
now  to  the  tram  as  it  passes  you  and  in  two  minutes  you 
will  be  in  the  Via  Leoni,  and  at  the  corner  of  a  side  street 
you  will  find  the  remains  of  one  more  Roman  archway,  the 
Porta  Leoni,  with  a  Corinthian  column  on  either  side  of  it, 
and  above  them  three  windows  with  pilasters. 

We  shall  see  other  Roman  remains  in  the  museum,  but 
for  the  present  this  is  all  that  we  shall  inspect-of  that  period. 
Following  the  Roman  came  the  Goths,  and  beyond  the 
river  we  can  find  the  remains  still  of  the  huge  walls  built 
by  Theodoric,  in  triple  courses  of  brick  and  stone, 
which  are  now  covered  by  the  more  ornamental  walls  built 
upon  them  by  the  Scaligeri,  who  croivned  them  with  the 
forked  battlements  that  can  be  seen  from  all  parts  of  the  city 
and  on  all  sides.  These  walls  and  battlements  you  will 
see  better  when  you  take  a  carriage  from  Hotel  Europa,  as  I 
most  strongly  recommend  you  to  do  after  the  galleries  close, 
say  at  4.30,  and  drive  out  around  the  city  high  up  above  the 
river,  passing  out  of  the  place  by  a  great  gate  called  the 
Porta  San  Giorgio,  and  driving  for  a  while  along  by  the 
tram  line  that  goes  to  Trento,  and  then  returning  towards 
the  Castel  San  Pietro  up  to  the  Castel  San  Felice,  and 
right  on  towards  the  Porta  Vescovo  and  so  into  the  city. 
The  Castel  San  Pietro  that  you  will  see  is  part  of  the 
palace  of  Theodoric,  and  the  Roman  style  of  its  building 
will  be  noticed.  The  other  Castel  that  lies  so  much 
higher  and  commands  the  whole  district  is  part  of  a  much 
later  system  of  protection  invented  and  built  by  the  great 
architect  Sanmicheli,  of  whom  I  shall  have  more  to  say 
later  on. 


I30  VERONA 


C.  VERONA  UNDER  THE  SCALIGERI 

I    want  you  now   to  give  some  attention  to  the  story  of 
the  city  in  mediaeval    times,  and   it  will  be  well  therefore 
if  we   go   briefly  over   the    history   of  the   place   together 
ere  we  set  out  again  for  a  walk  through  its  streets.     This 
history  is  very  much   connected   with   the  great  family  of 
the    Scaligeri,   an    old   Veronese    family   dating    back    to 
the  eleventh  century.      The  city  was,  of  course,  originally 
Lombard,  but  it  fell  under  the  sway,  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
of  a  cruel  despot,  named  Ezzelino  da  Romano,  and  it  was  his 
cruelty  to  certain  members  of  the  Scaligeri  that  brought 
them  into  notice.     Ezzelino  died  in  1259;  and  in  1260  the 
people  of  Verona    resolved   again    to   be   free,  and  raised 
Mastino  della  Scala  to  the  position  of  Capitano  del  Popolo 
He  was  the  head  at  that   time  of  his   family,  which  was 
reckoned  as  one  of  the  chief  aristocratic  ones  in  Verona,  and 
he  had  been  serving  against  his  will  in  the  army  of  the 
tyrant.     He  ruled  over  Verona  for  fifteen  years  and  then 
was  murdered  by  the  members  of  a  conspiracy  formed  from 
those  who  hated  him,  ^ind  who  gave  as  their  excuse  for  the 
deed  his  unwillingness  to  bring  to  justice  a  man  who  had 
offended  them.     So  little  was  their  excuse  accepted  by  the 
A'eronese  that  the  place  where  the  foul  deed  was  done  was 
at  the  time  and  is  still  down  to   the   present   day  called 
"volta  barbara."     Mastino  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
Alberto   I.,   who   had    for   some   previous    years   ruled   in 
Mantua,  and  who  was  a  peace-loving  and  enlightened  ruler. 
In   his   time  the  rule  that  was  temporarily  placed  on  the 
shoulders  of  Mastino  was  given  over  to  the  Scaligeri  family 
in  a  much  more  complete  fashion,  as  the  chroniclers  record 
that  the  words  of  the  people  to  Alberto  were,  "  Viva  Alberto 
assoluto  oggi  e  per  sempre  ! "     Alberto  ruled  from  1277  to 
1 301,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son,  Bartolommeo, 
who  died  in  1304.      Upon  the  death  of  Bartolommeo  the 
second  son,  Alboino,  came  to  the  throne,  and  he  surrendered 
up  his  power  as  Capitano  del  Popolo  to  the  Emperor  of  the 


VERONA    UNDER    THE   SCALIGERI  131 

Holy  Roman  Empire  in  token  of  his  supremacy,  and  re- 
ceived it  back,  granted  to  him  and  his  descendants,  as  Vicar 
for  the  Emperor  Henry  VH.  Alboino  was  a  man  of  poor 
health,  and  he  associated  with  himself  on  the  throne  his 
brother,  a  much  more  powerful  man,  Francesco,  who  was 
styled  joint  Vicar  for  the  Emperor  with  Alboino.  In  131 1  this 
Francesco,  called,  for  some  unknown  reason,  Can  Grande 
(the  Great  Dog),  succeeded  to  the  entire  rule,  owing  to  the 
death  of  his  brother,  Alboino,  and  he  ruled  till  1329  in  the 
most  brilliant  manner.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew, 
Alberto  II.,  who  lived  but  one  year  ;  and  then  came 
Mastino  II.,  who  died  in  1351.  Following  him  came  Can 
Grande  II.,  who  was  murdered  in  1359,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  brother.  Can  Signorio,  who  died  in  his  turn  in 
1375  ;  and  then  followed  a  time  of  confusion,  and  in  1389 
Gian  Galeazzo,  as  we  have  already  seen,  captured  Verona. 
At  his  death  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  ruler  of  Padua, 
Francesco  H.  di  Carrara,  and  in  1404  both  cities  were 
taken  by  the  Venetians  and  remained  associated  with  the 
Republic  of  Venice  down  to  the  time  of  its  fall  in  1797, 
when  it  was  overthrown  by  Napoleon. 

We  have  in  Verona,  therefore,  to  do  with  a  regular 
succession  of  rulers  of  one  family,  lasting  from  1259  to 
1389,  and  covering  the  time  of  the  greatest  prosperity 
of  the  place.  Francesco,  who  was  called  Can  Grande, 
was  the  greatest  of  these  rulers,  and  his  court  was 
one  of  the  most  magnificent  in  Italy.  Dante  was  received 
by  him,  and  in  that  way  he  has  rendered  his  name 
ever  famous.  Mastino  II.  was  at  one  time  in  his  life  an 
equally  popular  and  wealthy  sovereign,  as  his  sway  was  felt 
from  Lucca  to  Vicenza  and  Padua,  and  as  far  also  as  Parma, 
but  he  went  into  warfare  against  the  Visconti  and  lost  much 
of  his  possessions.  Can  Grande  II.  and  Can  Signorio  were 
successful  monarchs,  and  again  Verona  took  a  high  position 
and  the  arts  received  attention,  and  the  city  was  beautified  ; 
but  then  followed  the  time  of  confusion  and  the  glory  of  the 
Scaligeri  was  over  for  ever.  Let  me  now  take  you  round  to 
the  little  out-of-doors  cemetery  in  which  these  great  rulers 


132  VERONA 

lie  buried.  We  will  pass  into  the  central  piazza  of  the  city, 
the  picturesque  Piazza  delle  Erbe,  cross  it  to  the  Palazzo 
del  Ragione,  and  pass  by  the  Via  Costa  into  the  Piazza  dei 
Signori.  Here  lived  the  Scaligeri  in  the  palaces  that 
surround  the  square.  Their  chief  seat  was  what  is  now 
called  the  Palazzo  del  Consiglio,  and  in  that  building  is  the 
family  chapel.  On  the  S.  side  are  two  other  buildings, 
now  called  the  Tribuna  and  the  Prefettura,  built  as  palaces 
by  Mastino  and  Alberto,  but  now  used  for  civic  purposes,  the 
chief  part  having  been  adapted  as  a  prison. 

The  Via  Arche  will  take  us  to  the  **tombs  which 
stand  close  to  the  little  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  Antica, 
which  was  the  family  burying-place  for  the  Scaligeri,  and 
within  whose  walls  they  had  worshipped  for  generations. 
Notice  all  around  the  tombs  a  fine  railing  of  iron  trellis- 
work,  in  which  is  conspicuous  the  Scala  or  ladder,  the 
family  badge.  It  is  all  buckled  together  and  is  therefore 
not  rigid,  but  can  be  moved  by  the  hands  and  is  extremely 
fine  wrought-iron  work.  To  enter  the  enclosure  we  have 
to  pay  a  small  fee,  and  then  have  an  opportunity  of  looking 
around  at  this  singular  assemblage  of  tombs.  In  the  corner 
as  we  go  in,  on  the  left,  is  the  double  effigy  of  Mastino  IL, 
the  ruler  being  represented  on  horseback  on  the  summit  of 
the  pyramid,  and  recumbent  in  death  below.  Next  to  it  are 
three  tombs  in  a  row,  Can  Grande  II.,  Alboino  L,  and 
Bartolommeo.  Then  in  the  far  corner  is  the  splendid  tomb 
of  Can  Signorio.  Away  to  the  right  in  the  open  courtyard 
is  the  tomb  of  Alberto,  nearer  the  church  that  of  Mastino 
L,  then  higher  up  Alberto  II.  also  called  Giovanni,  and 
over  the  door  of  the  church  is  the  sarcophagus  of  Can 
Grande  I.  This  last  tomb  is  also  a  double  one,  like  the  one 
we  first  saw,  but  the  sarcophagus  rests  upon  huge  figures 
of  dogs  from  whom  he  had  his  strange  sobriquet,  and  who 
are  represented  by  the  sculptor  as  supporting  the  shield 
on  which  are  the  ladders.  Mark  the  dignity  of  the  horse- 
man on  the  right,  high  up  on  the  apex,  and  also  the  beauty  of 
the  carving  on  the  archway  and  cusps  o\er  the  recumbent 


VERONA    UNDER   THE   SCALIGERI         133 

figure.  Having  gone  all  round  and  noticed  this  great  group 
of  rulers  buried  in  the  midst  of  their  people  in  the  full  sight 
of  all  who  were  to  serve  under  their  successors,  return  for  a 
while  to  the  tomb  of  Can  Signorio  over  in  the  corner  of  the 
courtyard.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  things  that  the  fourteenth 
century  produced  in  its  later  and  more  florid  period,  and 
was  the  work  of  Bonino  da  Campiglione,  whose  name  can 
be  read  in  the  inscription  above  the  two  E.  columns,  in 
which  he  records  the  fact  that  he  was  not  only  the  designer 
of  the  stately  pile  but  also  the  sculptor  who  carved  it. 
Notice  upon  the  square  pilasters,  the  figures  of  the  warrior 
saints,  St.  Quirinus,  St.  Valentine,  St.  Martin,  St.  George, 
St.  Sigismond,  and  St.  Louis,  and  above  them  are  the 
figures  of  the  Virtues,  Faith,  Prudence,  Charity,  Hope, 
Justice,  and  Fortitude,  while  above  all  is  the  equestrian 
figure  of  the  ruler  himself,  and  in  the  midst,  recumbent  upon 
his  sarcophagus,  appears  the  same  man  still  in  death. 

Mark  very  specially  the  beauty  of  the  iron  railing  that 
surrounds  the  whole,  and  upon  which  is  to  be  seen  in  all 
directions  the  symbolic  ladder.  Having  examined  these 
tombs,  let  me  recommend  you  to  walk  down  the  Via 
Sottoria,  which  is  by  the  side  of  the  church,  to  the  Church 
of  Sta.  Anastasia,  which  is  close  by,  and  stands  by  the 
river,  and  then  ere  you  enter  it  stop  and  look  up  on  the 
left,  and  over  the  entrance  to  a  courtyard  by  the  side  of  the 
church,  you  will  see  the  most  perfect  **monument  in  Verona, 
the  one  which  Ruskin,  with  pardonable  enthusiasm,  calls 
"  the  most  perfect  Gothic  monument  in  the  world — pure  and 
lovely,  my  most  beloved  throughout  all  the  length  and 
breadth  of  Italy— chief  as  I  think  among  all  the  sepulchral 
marbles  of  a  land  of  mourning." 

It  is  far  older  than  the  florid  piece  of  work  to  which  we 
have  just  been  giving  attention,  as  it  belongs  to  1320,  and 
was  erected  to  the  memory  of  Guglielmo  da  Castelfranco, 
the  friend  and  close  adviser  of  Can  Grande,  and  a  generous 
helper  in  the  decoration  of  the  neighbouring  church.  It  is 
severely  plain  in  its  design,  but  charming  in  its  perfect 
truth  and  accuracy  and  in  the  balance  and  proportion  of  all 


134  VERONA 

its  details.  From  the  platform  which  rests  upon  brackets 
supporting  it  on  the  summit  of  the  wall  rise  four  fine 
columns  of  white  marble  surmounted  with  decorated  heads, 
and  beneath  them  is  the  red  marble  sarcophagus  standing 
on  the  backs  of  two  couchant  lions,  on  the  top  of  which 
is  the  recumbent  effigy  of  the  celebrated  lawyer.  Rising 
from  these  four  columns,  is  the  simple  canopy,  a  Gothic 
arch  richly  cusped,  on  which  is  a  pediment  and  pyramid  all 
decorated  slightly  with  carving  in  the  most  perfect  taste. 
The  structure  of  the  whole  erection  is  clearly  revealed,  and 
the  four  columns  are  steadied,  as  Ruskin  points  out,  by  bars 
of  iron,  which  form  a  part  of  the  original  design,  and  are 
delicately  wrought  all  along  their  surface  with  a  charming 
running  pattern.  The  great  simplicity  of  the  whole  of  this 
monument  may  not  permit  all  its  beauties  to  be  revealed  at 
once,  but  stand  still,  look  it  all  over  with  your  field-glasses, 
and  tell  me  where  it  is  possible  to  improve  it  in  any  respect 
or  where  it  is  possible  to  remove  an  item  from  its  decoration 
without  spoiling  the  whole,  and  then  the  more  you  gaze  the 
more  you  will  appreciate  the  subtle  beauties  of  this  most 
exquisite  work.  There  are  three  other  fine  tombs  of  the 
same  family  within  the  little  courtyard,  but  there  is  nothing 
in  Italy  which  you  will  see  that  in  its  way  will  equal  the  beauty 
of  this  monument,  which  reveals  the  hand  of  an  artist  of  the 
highest  merit,  albeit  his  name  has  perished  and  only  his 
work  remains. 


D.  THE   CHURCHES   OF   VERONA 

Now,  to  begin  our  study  of  the  churches  of  V'erona  and  to 
understand  their  architecture,  we  must  commence  with  the 
*  *  Church  of  San  Zeno,  which  is  situated  right  at  the  opposite 
end  of  Verona  to  where  we  are  now  standing.  The  church 
is  on  the  extreme  edge  of  the  city,  and  if  we  are  pressed  for 
time,  we  had  better  drive  to  it,  as  it  will  take  us  quite  half- 
an-hour  to  walk,  but  if  we  walk,  then  the  better  way  is  to  go 
right  down  the  street  opposite  to  Sta.  Anastasia,  which  is 


THE   CHURCHES  OF    VERONA  13$ 

the  Corso  Cavour,  through  the  Borsari  gate,  on  past  the 
Castel  Vecchio,  and  turn  round  by  the  river  and  follow  its 
course,  till  we  see  the  great  campanile  of  the  church  before 
us,  and  then  turn  off  to  the  left  to  it.  The  church  is  a 
twelfth-century  one,  and  is  in  practically  its  original  condi- 
tion. The  entrance  doors  are  even  older,  and  the  bronze 
reliefs,  which  are  not  beaten  work  but  cast,  are  about  the 
oldest  things  of  their  kind  in  the  country.  They  are  attri- 
buted to  the  ninth  century,  and  represent  in  the  very 
boldest  and  most  archaic  manner  scenes  from  the  Old 
Testament.  There  are  forty-eight  of  them  fixed  to  the 
massive  doors,  and  they  are  interesting  as  the  very  begin- 
nings of  an  art  that  was  destined  to  have  such  a  future. 
Now  look  up  at  the  front,  and  you  will  see  that  the  portal  is 
richly  sculptured  with  various  scenes.  The  one  over  the 
door  is  said  to  represent  the  deputation  sent  to  St.  Zeno  by 
the  Emperor  Gallienus,  and  all  around  are  various  scenes 
from  Bible  history  each  explained  by  some  short  verses 
carved  underneath  it. 

On  the  top  of  the  door-posts  are  represented  the  twelve 
months,  and  on  one  of  the  side  panels  underneath  the  first 
set  of  scenes  on  the  right  is  the  well-known  representation 
of  the  Emperor  Theodoric  riding  headlong,  as  a  wild  hunts- 
man, to  the  devil.  The  ingenious  craftsman  who  is  respon- 
sible for  all  this  work  in  1140  has  left  his  name  in  the 
carvings,  and  we  still  read,  "  Salvet  in  eternum  qui  sculpsit 
ista  Guglielmus,"  as  in  the  bronze  castings  just  named  we 
find  the  maker's  name,  Figarolo,  recorded  with  the  same 
prayer. 

Now  let  us  enter  the  church  and  find  a  building  so  simple, 
so  good,  so  mysterious,  that  we  are  at  once  attracted  by  its 
beauty.  We  step  down  into  this  splendid  nave,  and  look 
right  up  to  the  raised  choir  with  its  curious  screen,  along  the 
front  of  which  are  a  row  of  figures  of  the  Twelve  Apostles 
sculptured  in  the  fourteenth  century.  In  the  centre  is  the 
wide  flight  of  steps  stretching  down  into  the  crypt,  and  on 
either  side  of  it  are  the  two  smaller  flights  which  lead  up  to 
the  choir  itself 


136  VERONA 

The  chief  object  to  be  seen  in  the  nave  is  the  huge  Coppa 
di  San  Zeno,  an  enormous  cup  of  porphyry  measuring  nearly 
fourteen  feet  across,  and  said  to  have  originally  stood  outside 
and  have  been  used  for  washing  the  feet  of  the  pilgrims  who 
came  to  the  shrine.  The  local  legend  relates  that  the  devil 
brought  it  as  an  offering  to  San  Zeno,  and,  not  obtaining  his 
desire  from  the  saint,  attempted  to  carry  it  back,  but  was 
prevented  from  so  doing  by  the  orders  of  the  Bishop  and 
had  to  leave  his  treasure  behind.  It  is  a  very  grand  piece 
of  porphyry,  and  is  doubtless  of  great  antiquity.  Having 
looked  at  it,  and  noticed  the  altar-piece  by  Torbido,  a  some- 
what crowded  arrangement  with  fat  plump  figures  on  the 
first  altar  to  the  right,  let  us  walk  up  the  nave  and  descend 
into  the  cr)-pt  ere  we  go  to  the  choir,  as  I  want  you  to 
notice  how  curiously  the  columns  which  support  its  roof  are 
carried  right  up  through  the  roof  on  either  side  and  form 
piers  in  the  choir  above.  Many  of  the  columns  have  remains 
of  fresco  upon  them  and  are  worth  attention,  At  the  very 
end  is  the  modern  shrine  of  San  Zeno,  surrounded  by  a 
railing  which  was  erected  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
which,  like  the  railing  around  the  Scaliger  tombs  which  we 
have  just  seen,  is  not  rigid,  but  is  buckled  together  quite 
loosely,  so  that  it  gives  to  the  hand  and  can  be  shaken  to 
and  fro.     It  is  most  skilfully  made  and  should  be  examined. 

Ascending  from  the  crypt  we  climb  the  steps  and  find  our- 
selves in  the  choir.  The  statue  of  the  patron  saint  in  marble 
on  the  right  is  a  very  venerable  one,  going  back  to  the  ninth 
century,  and  having  the  special  peculiarity  that  the  saint, 
who  was  a  fisherman,  is  so  represented,  and  has  a  fish  of 
silvered  wood  at  the  end  of  his  rod.  On  the  opposite  side  is 
a  statue  of  St.  Proculus,  a  piece  of  fourteenth-century  work, 
and  of  about  the  same  date  are  the  quaint  frescoes  that  can 
be  seen  over  the  arches  of  the  choir  and  elsewhere.  The 
fine  picture  that  hangs  to  the  right  of  the  choir  is  an 
important  work  by  Mantegna,  depicting  the  Madonna  and 
Child  with  angels  and  eight  saints.  The  architectural 
work,  the  flowers,  and  the  fruits  are  all  most  characteristic, 
and  with  the  strangely  complicated  draperies  clearly  mark 


THE   CHURCHES   OF    VERONA  137 

the  work  of  Mantegna,  amongst  whose  pictures  this  one 
holds  a  very  important  place.  The  predella  pictures  are 
copies.  The  carving  on  some  of  the  capitals  is  worth  notice, 
and  was  done  by  the  same  sculptor  who  left  his  name  on 
his  work  in  the  crypt — Adamius. 

We  will  now  turn  and  leave  this  delightful  old  church, 
specially  representative  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  more 
impressive  as  it  is  built  of  an  arrangement  of  delightful  yellow 
stone,  brick,  and  marble,  characteristic  of  the  buildings  of 
Verona,  which  we  shall  notice  in  almost  every  church  as 
we  walk  about  the  city.  Here  we  specially  mark  it,  as  we 
have  not  seen  this  method  of  building  before.  The  frame- 
work of  the  rose  window  and  the  quaint  colonnade  in  the 
centre  of  the  west  front  are,  you  will  notice,  of  marble. 

Pass  now  outside  the  church  and  turn  down  the  little 
passage  by  the  left  into  the  Cloisters,  which  are  of  remark- 
able beauty  and  were  built  in  the  twelfth  century.  Notice 
how  curiously  the  twin  columns  that  surround  them  are  joined 
at  the  top  and  bottom  by  a  short  horizontal  piece  of  marble, 
which  was  not  attached  but  was  part  of  the  original  block 
of  marble,  and  carefully  left  by  the  carver  as  he  formed  the 
columns,  increasing  his  labour  considerably  in  order  to  show 
his  skill  and  leave  a  quaint  feature  which  adds  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  united  columns.  In  many  cases  this  little 
attachment  has  been  broken  away,  but  it  will  be  found  in 
a  great  many  places  round  the  cloister.  Away  on  the  side 
opposite  to  the  one  on  which  we  enter  is  a  sort  of  room  in 
the  arcading,  supported  upon  columns  of  different  diameter 
and  having  at  its  ends  columns  of  quite  large  size  united, 
as  are  the  others,  by  this  same  sort  of  tongue.  This  place 
originally  held  a  large  bowl  or  trough  containing  water 
at  which  the  monks  could  wash,  and  it  seems  likely  that  it 
was  raised  above  the  ground  and  perhaps  approached  by 
steps  as  the  columns  denote  the  existence  of  some  vessel  of 
great  weight  that  needed  strength  to  support  it.  There  are 
some  fine  tombs  in  this  cloister,  two  close  to  one  another  m 
the  SE.  angle,  having  upon  them  the  ladder,  the  crest  of  the 
Scaligeri,  and  containing  the  remains  of  certain  important 


138  VERONA 

members  of  that  family,  one  of  whom  was  prior  of  the  Con- 
vent of  San  Zeno.  In  this  cloister  you  will  also  find  a  small 
chapel  in  which  are  some  interesting  remains  of  carved 
stone-work  from  the  neighbouring  church.  The  adjoining 
Campanile  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Italy,  a  most  stately  tower, 
ha\ing  near  to  the  top  a  double  gallery  of  arches  and  sur- 
mounting that  a  spire  with  four  corner  turrets.  It  stands 
quite  alone,  in  the  manner  of  the  Veronese  campaniles,  and 
gives  great  dignity  to  the  church.  On  the  opposite  side  is 
a  quaint  brick  tower,  which  was  a  part  of  the  monastery 
-  that  adjoined  the  church,  but  originally  belonged  to  an 
important  dwelling  that  tradition  says  was  the  palace  of 
King  Pepin,  the  son  of  Charlemagne.  It  is  crowned  with 
the  Ghibeline  swallow-tailed  battlements,  which  are  to  be 
seen  all  around  Verona,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
building  that  had  these  ornaments  and  from  which  all  the 
others  derived  them. 

When  we  leave  San  Zeno,  if  we  are  to  pursue  our  examina- 
tion of  the  churches  in  any  thing  like  chronological  order, 
we  ought  to  go  right  away  to  the  extreme  other  side  of  the 
city,  cross  the  Adige,  and  visit  San  Stefano ;  or  else  we  should, 
if  on  that  side  of  the  river,  see  that  venerable  church  first  ere 
we  come  to  San  Zeno.  But  to  walk  or  drive  backwards  and 
forwards  is  not,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  a  wise  thing 
to  do,  and  means  the  waste  of  a  great  deal  of  time,  and  as 
we  are  near  to  an  interesting  church  and  shall  not  have 
occasion  to  come  into  this  part  of  the  city  again,  it  will  be 
well  if  we  go  from  San  Zeno  to  San  Bernardino  before 
we  return  into  the  city. 

If,  therefore,  we  cross  the  piazza  to  the  Via  San  Giuseppe, 
cross  that  street,  and  continue  down  the  Via  Lungo  San 
Bernardino,  we  shall  arrive  in  a  very  few  minutes  at  the 
church  that  we  seek,  and  shall  enter  into  a  small  cloister  in 
which  is  a  door  that  will  admit  us  into  the  church.  If  the 
cloister  is  closed,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  then  ring  the 
bell  and  a  monk  will  admit  you  and  will  open  the  church. 
We  have  now  left  the  venerable  days  behind,  and  are  in  a 
fifteenth  century  building,  of  which   the  chief  sight   is  the 


THE   CHURCHES   OF    VERONA  139 

**Capella  Pellegrini,  the  work  of  the  great  Veronese 
architect,  Sanmicheli.  The  custode  will  open  it  for  us, 
and  we  can  enter  this  lovely  little  circular  chapel.  It  is 
rather  a  mental  strain  to  so  suddenly  leave  the  solemn 
mysterious  grandeur  of  San  Zeno  and  jump  to  the  stern 
refined  beauty  of  this  classical  building,  but  I  think  if  you 
will  sit  down  and  look  round  the  building  you  will  not  fail 
to  admire  it.  It  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful examples  that  can  be  found  of  pure  classical  ornamenta- 
tion, and  although  not  absolutely  perfect,  as  the  purists  in 
architecture  will  tell  us,  yet  it  is  very  nearly  so,  and  contains 
much  refinement  of  treatment  with  pediments,  pilasters, 
mouldings,  and  cornices  which  are  all  of  the  Corinthian  order 
of  exquisite  grace  and  delicacy.  Notice  the  decreasing 
squares  in  the  dome,  all  in  such  perfect  proportion,  the 
shells  above  the  recesses,  the  spiral  work  on  the  columns,  and 
the  well-planned  entrance  doorway  and  the  cornice  over  it. 
Sanmicheli  was  one  of  the  great  men  of  Verona  and  an 
undoubted  genius.  He  was  mainly  a  military  architect  and, 
as  I  have  already  stated,  was  responsible  for  the  later  forti- 
fications of  the  city,  and  we  shall  also  see  his  work  in  some 
of  the  palaces  and  bridges  of  the  place  ;  but  he  never  executed 
anything  finer  or  more  characteristic  of  his  great  love  of 
classical  detail  than  this  little  chapel,  square  on  the  outside 
and  circular  within,  upon  which  he  bestowed  the  very  best 
of  his  skill. 

The  chief  of  his  work  is  in  Verona,  but  some  of  his  build- 
ings are  to  be  seen  in  Venice,  a  fine  church  in  Orvieto,  and 
fortifications  as  far  afield  as  Corfu,  Cyprus,  and  Crete. 

We  will  now  retrace  our  steps  towards  the  city,  as  in  this 
church  there  is  nothing  else  that  need  detain  us  unless  we 
are  particularly  interested  in  the  painting  of  the  Brescian 
Morone,  whose  work  we  can  see  at  the  fourth  and  fifth 
chapels  and  near  to  the  choir  arch  ;  but  as  we  enter  Verona 
we  ought  to  notice  the  finest  of  the  gates  that  Sanmicheli 
erected— the  Porta  Palio. 

We  can  walk  from  San  Bernardino  by  the  fortifications 
and   come   to   this  fine  gate,  an  ingenious  example  of  the 


I40  VERONA 

combination  of  the  beauty  of  Corinthian  architecture  with 
the  needs  of  mihtary  fortification.  We  then  go  straight 
down  the  Via  Porta  Palio  to  the  Castel  Vecchio,  a  grand 
fourteenth-century  fortress  buih  by  Can  Grande  II.,  of 
which  the  exterior  only  remains  in  original  condition. 
There  is  no  need  for  you  to  enter  the  building  as  all  the 
interior  has  been  adapted  to  modern  use,  but  you  will  do 
well  to  stay  and  admire  the  impressive  exterior,  "  noble  and 
picturesque,"  as  it  has  been  well  called,  and  adorned  with 
those  great  swallow-tailed  battlements  of  which  I  ha\-e 
before  spoken. 

On  our  way  back  to  Hotel  Europa  we  shall  pass  several  of 
the  palaces  that  Sanmicheli  designed  for  the  great  Veronese 
families.  They  are  not  now,  as  a  rule,  occupied  by  the 
families  for  whom  they  were  built,  and  some  of  them  are 
degraded  into  the  position  of  stores  or  cut  up  for  small 
dwellings,  but  they  retain  their  old  names,  and  their  fronts 
well  illustrate  the  variety  and  skill  of  the  great  architect  who 
designed  them.  We  shall  pass  three  of  them  in  the  Corso 
Cavour  :  the  Palazzo  Bevilacqua,  with  a  row  of  busts  over 
the  windows  and  spiral  columns  between  the  windows  over 
the  balcony.  This  is  on  the  right,  and  opposite  to  it  is  the 
Palazzo  Canossa  with  a  row  of  statues  on  the  roof;  and 
almost  next  the  Palazzo  Portalupi,  which  is  a  good  example 
of  Ionic  design. 

I  want  now  to  take  you  over  the  river  to  see  the  little 
*  Church  of  San  Stefano,  which,  as  the  original  cathedral, 
ought  to  be  seen  before  we  enter  the  present  cathedral,  and 
which  in  some  ways  might  have  been  our  starting-point 
in  our  survey  of  the  churches  of  Verona.  We  cross  the 
Ponte  Pietra,  the  same  bridge  as  we  crossed  on  our  way  to 
the  Roman  theatre,  but  turn  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
theatre— that  is,  to  the  left— and  in  a  minute  are  in  front  of  the 
church.  It  is  sure  to  be  locked,  as  few  persons  visit  it,  but 
a  boy  will  fetch  the  old  woman  who  has  the  key. 

The  appearance  of  the  church  will  recall  San  Zeno,  but 
it  is  plainer  and  more  archaic.  The  crypt  is  said  to  have  an 
antiquity  taking  it  back  to  the  eighth  century,  and  the  church 


THE   CHURCHES   OF    VERONA  141 

was  certainly  founded  over  an  older  one  in  the  eleventh 
century,  and  part  of  the  architecture  is  of  that  date.  The 
round  arches  in  the  crypt  reveal  their  great  age,  and  the 
curious  frescoes  that  adorn  them  belong  evidently  to  the 
period  before  the  twelfth  century. 

The  feature  of  the  church  is,  however,  the  choir,  which 
will  be  found  of  quite  unusual  construction,  and  posses- 
sing in  it  the  throne  for  the  bishop,  and  beyond  the  choir 
is  yet  another  older  choir  forming  part  of  the  original 
church  and  also  decorated  with  frescoes.  More  than 
twenty  of  the  bishops  of  Verona  lie  buried  in  this  church, 
and  from  an  architectural  point  of  view,  it  will  be  found  to 
be  not  only  one  of  the  most  interesting,  but  certainly  one 
of  the  most  puzzling  in  its  complication  of  choirs. 

Perhaps,  as  we  are  close  to  it,  we  may  as  well  walk  on 
and  see  San  Giorgio  in  Braida,  a  church  which  stands  close 
to  the  Porta  San  Giorgio,  and  which  is  again  the  work  of 
Sanmicheli.  We  saw  his  work  after  leaving  San  Zeno,  and 
therefore  it  will  not  be  serious  if,  after  leaving  San  Stefano 
we  again  change  the  current  of  our  thoughts  by  looking 
at  his  classical  dome.  The  Church  of  San  Giorgio  is  a 
good  example  of  his  florid  style,  not  nearly  so  fine  as  the 
Capella  Pellegrini  and  not  nearly  so  pure  in  style,  but  very 
effective. 

There  are  some  good  pictures  in  the  church.  The  Tinto- 
retto over  the  door  you  cannot  see,  it  is  hung  too  high  and 
the  light  is  impossible  ;  but  the  altar-piece  is  a  fine  work 
of  Paolo  Veronese,  very  decorative  and  effective.  It  is  not, 
however,  entirely  the  work  of  the  master,  but  was  finished 
by  his  pupils,  and  is  therefore  very  unequal  in  its  merit. 
There  is  a  beautiful  Moretto  to  be  seen  over  the  fifth  altar 
to  the  left,  and  the  work  of  his  rival  Romanino,  which  has 
been  divided  into  two  parts,  near  the  organ,  representing 
the  Martyrdom  of  St.  George.  The  great  Veronese  artist, 
who  began  as  a  miniaturist,  Grirolamo  da  Libri,  can  also 
be  studied  in  the  church.  At  the  fourth  altar  on  the  left  and 
over  the  fourth  to  the  right,  is  an  important  work  by  one  of 
his  pupils,  Brusasorci. 


142  VERONA 

In  the  Giiolamo  da  Libri  the  three  angel  faces  are  of 
exquisite  beauty  ;  two  of  them  are  singing,  and  the  third  is 
playing  on  a  lute. 

Now  we  will  return  over  the  Ponte  Pietra,  or  over  the 
Ponte  Garibaldi  if,  after  looking  at  San  Giorgio,  we  have 
wandered  on  a  few  steps  to  the  Porta  San  Giorgio  and 
passed  through  it  ;  and  by  either  bridge  we  reach  in  five 
minutes  the  Duomo. 

It  will  at  once  remind  us  of  San  Zeno,  and  very  much  of 
it  belongs  to  the  same  date  as  that  church,  notably  the 
porch  at  which  we  make  our  first  stop.  There  are  the  same 
two  sets  of  columns  resting  upon  the  backs  of  mystic 
animals — in  this  case  grifiins  ;  and  over  the  entrance  and 
around  are  reliefs  as  we  saw  in  San  Zeno,  but  not  so  fine  or 
so  interesting.  On  the  porch  appear  the  two  strange  figures 
of  the  warrior  guards  of  Charlemagne,  well  known  as  the 
Paladins  Roland  and  Oliver  in  story  and  legend,  the  one 
armed  with  a  sword  and  the  other  with  a  mace.  These 
were  carved,  so  the  inscription  states,  in  1135. 

The  feature  of  the  interior  is  the  curved  marble  screen, 
with  its  stately  colonnade  surmounted  with  a  splendid  cruci- 
fix in  bronze,  by  Gian  Battista  da  Verona.  The  marble 
screen  was  designed,  as  no  doubt  you  will  have  realised,  by 
Sanmicheli,  and  is  a  charming  example  of  his  refined  work. 
On  the  right  of  it  is  the  tomb  of  St.  Agatha,  a  Gothic 
monument  dated  1350,  which  in  the  sixteenth  century  was 
enclosed  in  a  lovely  Renaissance  framework. 

There  are  some  pictures  which  are  worthy  of  notice.  An 
Adoration  of  the  Kings,  by  Liberale  da  Verona,  on  the 
second  altar  to  the  right  ;  and  in  the  first  to  the  left,  a  cele- 
brated Assumption,  by  Titian,  which  was  considered  worthy 
to  be  carried  off  in  the  beginning  of  the  century  to  Paris, 
and  was  later  on  restored  to  the  church.  The  most  im- 
portant thing  in  this  cathedral,  after  the  delightful  classical 
screen,  is  the  font,  and  that  occupies  a  separate  building- 
attached  to  the  main  one.  There  is  a  passage  leading  to 
it  on  the  left  of  the  choir,  and  the  custodian  will  take  you 
into  what  is  termed  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni  in  Fonte, 


THE    CHURCHES   OF    VERONA  143 

where  will  be  found  the  enormous  **font,  a  huge  block  of 
reddish-yellow  \'erona  marble,  covered  on  the  exterior  with 
delightful  Lombard  twelfth  century  reliefs  depicting  the 
early  life  of  Our  Lord.  It  will  be  well  for  you  to  walk 
round  this  font  and  carefully  examine  all  the  reliefs  upon  it, 
commencing-  with  the  Annunciation  and  completing  the 
series  with  the  Baptism,  as  they  abound  |in  quaint  humour 
and  tell  their  stories  in  a  charming  naive  manner.  In  the 
centre  of  the  huge  font,  evidently  intended  for  the  immersion 
of  a  considerable  number  of  persons,  is  a  smaller  quatrefoil- 
shaped  enclosure,  also  of  marble,  in  which  the  officiating 
priest  stands  and  which  he  enters,  as  the  attendant  will 
most  graphically  describe  to  you,  by  a  set  of  steps  and  a 
movable  platform  which  extends  over  the  larger  font. 
There  is  a  chapel  to  the  right  in  this  church  which  is  covered 
with  rich  fresco-work,  and  is  worth  mention.  Now  come 
outside  and  look  at  the  cloisters  which,  like  those  we  have 
already  seen,  are  composed  of  columns  in  pairs,  but  not 
arranged  quite  as  those  at  San  Zeno  are,  in  this  case  the 
bases  and  capitals  of  each  pair  of  columns  being  united.  Each 
pair  is,  however,  cut  out  of  a  single  piece  of  marble  as  we 
saw  the  others  were  ;  and  on  one  side  of  the  cloister  the 
beautiful  arcading  is  double.  Notice  also  ere  you  leave 
the  place  the  remains  of  a  fine  mosaic  pavement  which 
has  been  discovered,  and  which  you  can  look  down  upon 
from  one  place  where  it  is  exposed.  It  is,  of  course,  Roman 
work,  but  whether  it  belonged  to  some  thermae  or  to  a 
temple  cannot  yet  be  determined. 

Now  for  Santa  Anastasia,  which  we  passed  by  before  we 
went  to  San  Zeno,  and  which  we  must  now  visit.  We  pass 
round  the  Duomo  by  the  Church  of  the  Font,  and  pass  the 
Archbishop's  Palace,  entering  for  a  moment  into  the  front 
court  of  that  palace  in  order  that  we  may  see  the  rear  part  of 
the  Duomo  and  San  Giovanni  in  Fonte,  which  look  remarkably 
picturesque  from  that  garden.  In  the  Archbishop's  Chapel 
there  are  some  pictures  by  Liberale,  but  I  have  never  been 
fortunate  enough  to  see  them,  as  on  each  of  the  occasions  on 
which  I  have  been  at  the  place  the  chapel  has  been  in  use 


144  VERONA 

for  service,  and,  as  it  is  small,  1  have  preferred  not  to  go  in 
to  see  the  pictures.  You  may  be  more  fortunate  than  I  have 
been,  and  if  so,  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  your  opinion  as  to 
these  works.  In  some  ways  Liberale  is  the  most  interesting 
artist  in  the  school  of  Verona  and  we  shall  remember  his 
picture  of  St.  Sebastian  in  the  Brera,  in  which  the  back- 
ground is  a  scene  in  Venice  with  its  palaces  and  canals,  and 
in  which  we  noticed  the  people  taking  so  keen  an  interest  in 
the  spectacle.  Follow  the  Via  del  Duomo  and  it  will  bring 
us  right  to  the  church  that  we  seek. 

The  *main  doorway  is  of  extreme  loveliness,  and  the 
brickwork  of  all  the  exterior  is  of  special  beauty,  the  mould- 
ings worked  in  brick,  and  the  rich  decoration  on  the  fagade 
in  the  same  material,  making  the  church  notable  even  in 
this  city  of  fine  brick  and  marble  churches.  The  interior 
is  notable  for  its  scheme  of  decoration,  much  of  which,  espe- 
cially about  the  vaulting,  is  contemporary  with  the  building. 
Probably  at  one  time  it  was  enfirefy  covered  with  fresco 
decoration,  sufficient  of  which  still  remains  to  give  a  fine 
effect  and  to  suggest  how  superb  must  have  been  the  original 
appearance.  Note  the  curious  fact  that  no  gold  is  used  in 
this  interior  decoration.  Another  important  feature  of  this 
church  is  to  be  noticed  at  the  second  and  third  chapels  on 
the  right,  which  will  be  found  surrounded  by  very  rich  carving 
in  stone  and  marble.  The  designs  of  these  arches  which 
frame  in  the  altars  are  splendid,  and  include  living  creatures 
such  as  lizards,  frogs,  tortoises,  birds,  and  flies,  all  set  in  the 
midst  of  fine  flowing  arabesque  work,  and  sculptured  in  the 
most  perfect  manner,  so  deeply  undercut  as  to  stand  out  in 
quite  wonderful  relief. 

As  you  enter  you  will  not  fail  to  be  attracted  by  the 
grotesque  humpbacked  figures  that  bear  the  holy-water 
Stoups.  one  of  which,  that  on  the  right,  was  carved  by  Ales- 
sandro  Rossi,  father  of  the  humpbacked  (Gobbino)  painter, 
and  the  other  by  the  father  of  Paolo  Veronese— Gabriele 
Caliari. 

In  the  second  chapel  on  the  right  are  some  very  early 
frescoes    by  that   interesting   Veronese  artist,   Altichieri, 


THE   CHURCHES   OF    VERONA  i^S 

representing  Knights  of  the  Cavalh  family  kneeling  before 
the  Virgin,  in  which  the  horse  (Cavallo)  stands  as  a  sort  of 
rebus  on  the  family  name  ;  but  as  we  shall  see  more  of  this 
artist's  work  at  Padua,  I  will  defer  any  comments  upon  him 
until  we  reach  that  place. 

The  terra-cotta  reliefs  in  this  church  merit  attention. 

The  Ji///t  altar  on  the  righf^  the  one  facing  down  the 
church,  contains  a  curious  coloured  piece  of  terra  cotta,  repre- 
senting the  Entombment,  in  which  the  anguish  of  the  faces 
is  particularly  well  presented.  In  this  same  chapel  there  is 
a  good  piece  of  quaint  iron-work  in  the  form  of  a  lamp. 

Other  terra-cotta  reliefs  are  to  be  found  in  the  Capella 
Pellegrini  on  the  left,  and  are  fifteenth-century  work  depict- 
ing the  life  of  Our  Lord. 

Of  the  pictures  in  this  church,  the  most  noteworthy  is  the 
*fresco  by  Pisanello  which  is  over  the  arch  of  this  Capella 
Pellegrini,  and  which  is  unfortunately  not  in  good  condition 
and  too  high  up  to  be  properly  seen  and  appreciated,  but  as 
a  good  work  of  the  great  medallist,  whose  influence  was  so 
important  and  so  far  reaching,  it  deserves  attention. 

In  the  right  transept  is  a  fine  work  by  Girolamo  dei 
Libri,  representing  the  Virgin  with  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  and 
St.  Augustine,  a  Dominican  friar,  and  the  two  donors  of  the 
picture.  It  is  a  very  architectural  work  with  pointed  arches, 
and  the  painting  of  the  marble  mosaic  and  wreaths  is  very 
characteristic  of  the  master  at  the  middle  of  his  career.  In 
the  fourth  chapel  on  the  left  is  a  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  Giolfino,  a  dark,  rich,  noble  work  ;  and  on  the  second  on 
the  left  is  another  picture  by  the  same  painter  of  St.  George 
and  St.  Erasmus,  somewhat  cold  and  stiff.  Notice  the 
donor  of  the  work  peeping  over  the  altar.  Mark  the  delightful 
pavement  in  this  church  of  red,  white,  and  grey  marble,  and 
the  great  variety  of  its  designs  and  patterns. 


146  VERONA 


E.  THE  ART  OF  VERONA 

It  may  be  well  perhaps,  on  leaving  Sta.  Anastasia,  to  go  to 
the  *  *  Picture  Grallery  instead  of  continuing  our  walk  round 
the  churches,  as  we  have  already  seen  certain  pictures  in 
the  churches  that  we  have  visited  and  possibly  have  not  any 
very  clear  idea  as  to  the  school  of  Verona  and  its  chief  men, 
and  a  visit  to  the  little  Pinacoteca  will  enable  us  to  arrange 
our  ideas  in  clearer  form  and  to  study  the  characteristic 
features  of  each  artist.     To  reach  it  we  pass  over  the  Ponte 
Navi,  which  is  the  bridge  over  which  the  tram-line  goes,  and, 
in  fact,  the  tram  will  take  us  to  the  very  door  of  the  Paiazzo 
Pompei  in  which  is  the  collection  of  pictures.     It  is  just  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  a  minute's  walk  to  the  right  on  cross- 
ing the  bridge,  and  the  palace  is  a  good  building  built  by 
Sanmicheli  and  bequeathed  by  its  last  owner.  Count  Pompei, 
to  the    city  as  a  picture  gallery.     The  lower  part  of  the 
building  is  what  is  termed  rustic-work,  and  is  plain,  rough 
squared  stone-work,  which  by  its  simplicity  affords  a  pleas- 
ing foundation  for  the  elaborate  Doric  work  which  is  over  it. 
Before  we  enter  the  gallery  it  will  be  well  if  I  give  you 
a  short  note  on  the  Veronese  painters.     I  need  not  refer  to 
the  very  earliest  men,  the  painters  in  fresco,  whose  archaic 
works  we  have  seen  in  the  crypt  of  San  Zeno  and  in  San 
Stefano,  but  will  begin  with  the  work  of  the  second  half  of 
the  fourteenth  century  in  which   first  we  see  the  influence 
of  Giotto  in   the  paintings  of  Altichieri  and  Avanzi  or 
Avanzo.     We  have  just  seen  frescoes  by  Altichieri,  and,  as 
I  have  already  stated,  we  shall  find  more  and  better  work 
by  him  in  Padua.     It  is  not  easy  to  distinguish  the  work  of 
the  two  artists  as  they  were  together  in  almost  every  im- 
portant scheme  of  decoration,  and  their  characteristics  have 
not  yet  received  the  close  attention  at  the  hand  of  an  expert 
to  enable  the  part  that  each  friend  took  in  the  fresco  to  be 
determined.     They  were,  of  course,  influenced  or  inspired 
by  Giotto,  whose  work  was  in  their  time  the  subject  of  much 
attention,  and  whose  frescoes  in  the  Arena  chapel  they  must 


THE   ART   OF    VERONA  147 

have  closely  studied ;  but,  as  Layard  points  out,  they  must  not 
be  taken  as  followers  or  pupils  of  Giotto,  as  they  preserved 
their  Veronese  character  in  the  deeper,  fuller  colouring, 
brighter  in  tone  and  more  sparkling  than  Giotto's,  and  in 
the  more  solid  forms  that  they  depicted,  less  idealised  than 
those  of  Giotto  and  with  more  roundness  and  bulk.  In 
their  hands  dramatic  energy  began  to  be  first  clearly  seen 
in  fresco,  and  marked  individuality  in  each  figure  to  be 
apparent.  With  them  must  be  mentioned  one  Martino,  who 
did  some  noteworthy  frescoes,  which  are  in  the  gallery 
which  we  shall  see  presently,  and  then  we  come  to  Pisano, 
or  Pisanello.  His  chief  work  in  Verona  I  have  just 
mentioned,  and  we  shall  again  see  his  fresco-work  in  San 
Fermo  with  his  signature,  but  he  is  specially  known  for 
his  skill  as  a  medallist  and  his  wonderful  painting  of 
portraits,  and  from  him  the  idea  of  portraits  in  fine  profile 
was  certainly  derived  and  it  can  be  traced  in  his  followers. 
Labouring  with  him  in  Venice  was  Gentile  da  Fabriano, 
whose  work  we  mentioned  in  the  Brera,  and  whose  love  of 
relief  work  in  his  pictures,  glorious  combination  of  colours, 
and  passionate  fondness  for  gold  and  brilliance  and  glow 
so  clearly  distinguish  him.  Both  he  and  Pisanello  were 
fond  of  introducing  birds  and  other  creatures  into  their 
works,  and  this  habit  they  handed  down  to  their  successors. 
Following  him  in  the  regular  series  of  painters  that 
worked  in  Verona  we  come  upon  a  man  named  Domenico 
Morone,  whose  son,  Francesco,  was  much  more  noted,  and 
whose  work  we  shall  see  in  the  gallery  and  to  much  greater 
advantage  in  the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  in  Organo  to  which 
I  will  take  you  later  on.  He  is  a  delicate  and  graceful 
painter  and  his  colouring  is  strong  and  full  in  power  while 
his  ideas  of  well-balanced  composition  are  notable.  We 
shall  see  presently  a  charming  composition  of  his,  a  Madonna 
and  Saints  in  fresco,  delightfully  grouped,  now  in  the  gallery 
(560),  but  at  one  time  on  a  house  near  the  bridge  which  we 
have  just  crossed.  Then  we  come  to  Liberale,  who  was 
educated  as  a  miniaturist,  and  who  never  lost  his  love  of  fine 
detail  and  his  power  of  representing  it.     In  the  gallery  we 


148  VERONA 

shall  see  some  of  his  work  in  this  way,  and  many  fine 
paintings  by  him  in  oil.  Bonsignori  was  his  pupil,  and 
inherited  from  him  the  love  of  architectural  details  that 
distinguished  the  master  together  with  a  force  and  strength 
that  is  his  own. 

Giolfino,  at  whose  picture  of  St.  George  and  St.  Erasmus 
we  have  just  been  looking,  was  also  a  pupil  or  a  follower  of 
Liberale.  He  is  a  very  unequal  painter,  and  at  times,  as 
in  this  very  work,  part  of  the  picture  is  done  with  energy, 
excellently  drawn  and  powei-fully  coloured,  and  part  of  it  is 
stiff  and  formal.  As  a  rule  his  shadows  are  too  dense  and 
so  his  pictures  lack  attractiveness.  Another  man  who  can 
only  be  studied  in  Verona  is  Caroto,  whose  masterpiece  we 
shall  presently  see  in  San  Fermo.  He  is  a  remarkable 
master,  very  rich  in  colouring,  powerful  in  drawing,  and 
curiously  partaking  of  the  Leonardo  style  in  his  work. 
There  are  portions  of  his  fresco-work  yet  to  be  seen  in  the 
streets  of  Verona,  especially  near  to  the  Church  of  St.  Thomas 
of  Canterbury,  and  he  can  be  well  studied  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Eufemia.  The  most  poetical  of  all  the  Veronese  school 
is  Girolamo  dei  Libri,  who,  like  Liberale,  was  educated 
as  a  miniaturist,  and  derived  his  sobriquet  from  the  books 
which  he  decorated.  He  is  really  a  fascinating  man,  and 
his  pictures  are  laden  with  the  delights  of  the  earth — fruit, 
flowers,  music,  and  landscape  of  rare  beauty.  He  can  be 
well  appreciated  in  the  gallery  at  whose  doors  we  are  still 
standing.  His  contemporary  was  Cavazzola,  whose  real 
name  was  Paolo  Moranda,  a  very  earnest,  strenuous  painter, 
who  moved  away  from  the  realistic  attitude  of  his  prede- 
cessors and  began  that  method  of  full  decoration,  great 
style,  and  powerful  colouring  that  was  characteristic  of 
Paolo  Veronese  and  so  of  the  Venetian  school.  Cavazzola 
was  a  very  brilliant  colourist,  but  his  colouring  did  not 
assist  the  emotion  of  his  pictures,  and  when  at  times  he 
rouses  a  deep  pathos  and  a  tender  sympathy  by  his  com- 
positions so  well  conceived  and  so  ably  drawn,  it  is  his 
colouring  that  is  not  equal  to  the  occasion  and  prevents  the 
picture  being  a  complete  success.     Torbido  is  still  more 


THE   ART   OF    VERONA  149 

Venetian,  partaking  of  the  character  of  Giorgione,  and 
probably  studying  under  him  in  Venice.  He  is  closely 
connected  in  art  with  Liberale,  under  whom  it  is  supposed 
he  had  his  first  instruction,  but  he  is  a  worker  of  peculiar 
interest  and  deserves  to  be  better  understood  and  appreci- 
ated. His  works  have  had  the  high  distinction  of  being 
confused  with  those  of  the  most  poetic  of  all  painters, 
Giorgione,  and  even  now  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  a  por- 
trait we  shall  see  in  the  gallery  in  Padua  which  has  been 
attributed  to  each  master  in  turn. 

Lastly  we  come  to  Brusasorci,  another  pupil  of  Liberale, 
and  one  whose  influence  on  Veronese  can  be  seen.  He 
was  an  artist  who  loved  full  flowing  wine-like  colour  and 
great  showiness  ;  and  then  at  the  end  is  Farinato,  who  is  a 
late  man,  dry  and  somewhat  uninteresting,  delighting  in  big 
pictures,  dull  colouring,  and  deep  shadows.  Paolo  Veronese  I 
need  only  name  as  he  really  belongs  to  the  Venetian  school. 

After  therefore  this  long  digression,  sitting  on  the  door- 
step of  the  gallery,  or  at  all  events  waiting  in  its  porch,  I 
will  allow  you  to  enter,  and  we  will  see  what  we  can  learn 
from  the  masters  of  whose  works  we  have  been  speaking. 
We  shall  find  in  this  gallery  several  notable  works  that 
do  not  belong  to  the  school  of  Verona  at  all,  but  are  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  noticed,  and  so  I  will  go  round 
with  you,  as  I  have  done  in  the  Milanese  galleries,  and 
point  out  the  chief  pictures  that  deserve  attention.  There 
is  no  catalogue  of  the  gallery  that  can  be  purchased,  only 
hand  screens  in  each  room. 

Room  L 

34.  An  early  Perugino,  one  of  the  earliest  works  known 
b>  this  master,  and  representing  a  Madonna  and  Child 
with  St.  John  and  two  angels.  A  part  of  this  work  is  by 
a  pupil,  but  the  central  portion  is  marked  by  the  spirit  of 
the  master. 

32.  Madonna  and  Child  and  St.  John,  by  Titian  ;  also  an 
early  work. 


150  VERONA 

Room  II. 

155.  Madonna  and  Child  with  two  saints,  by  Francia  ; 
a  delightful  work  by  this  charming  Bolognese  master, 
signed. 

86.  Presentation  in  the  Temple,  by  Giovanni  Bellini  ;  a 
very  charming  work,  signed. 

93  (under  it).  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  by  Perugino  ;  a 
late  work. 

88.   Holy  Family,  by  Andrea  del  Sarto  ;  much  cleaned. 

97.  A  Portrait  of  a  Man  in  black,  by  Antonio  Moro  ;  a 
splendid  representation,  truthful  and  powerful. 

120.  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Joseph,  by  Perugino. 

121,  An  Annunciation,  by  Garofalo  ;  a  gay,  bright  picture 
by  this  delightful  Ferrarese  artist. 

150.  The  Death  of  a  Saint,  by  Lo  Spagna,  the  pupil  of 
Perugino  and  the  painter  of  the  Sposalizio  at  Caen. 

117  (over  the  door).  A  PietJi,  by  Montagna  ;  worth 
attention. 

Room  III.  There  is  nothing  in  this  room  that  need 
detain  you. 

Room  IV. 

240.  Madonna  and  Child  Sleeping,  by  Giolfino  ;  cold,  hard, 
but  full  of  expression. 

250.  Christ  Washing  the  Feet  of  his  Disciples,  by  Boni- 
facio ;  good  picture,  fine  colouring,  but  no  reverence  at  all 
in  it,  just  a  fine  piece  of  decoration. 

252.  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Sebastian  and  St. 
Roch. 

253.  Baptism  of  Christ.  Both  of  these  works  by  Giro- 
lamo  dei  Libri. 

238.  St.  Anthony,  by  Brusasorci. 

Room  V. 

This  is  the  really  important  room  for  you  to  see. 

There  are  two  works   by  Cavazzola  in  this  room,  from 


THE   ART   OF    VERONA  151 

which  you  will  be  able  to  get  a  good  idea  of  his  power,  and 
of  the  decorative  value  of  his  work. 

The  most  remarkable  of  all  is  perhaps  335,  a  Madonna 
and  Child  with  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic,  and  below  SS. 
Elizabeth,  Bonaventura,  Louis,  Ivo,  King  Louis,  and  Elzea- 
rius,  together  with  the  Contessa  de  Sacco,  the  donor  of  the 
picture.  The  movement  in  this  work  is  rather  awkward  and 
the  grouping  formal,  but  the  work  is  a  fine  and  impressive 
one  without  doubt. 

Near  by  are  a  wonderful  series  of  works,  292,  3,  4,  5,  re- 
presentations of  Saints  ;  298,  the  Scene  of  the  Doubt  of  St. 
Thomas  ;  303,  the  Flagellation  of  Christ ;  305,  the  Washing 
of  the  Feet ;  and  308,  the  Crowning  with  Thorns— all  highly 
decorative  works,  well  drawn,  powerfully  conceived,  and  not 
lacking  either  in  expression  or  pathos.  Critical  investigation 
may  discover  that  the  forms  lack  muscle,  that  the  draperies 
are  hard,  and  the  movements  are  formal,  but  the  pictures 
show  an  important  master  at  his  best  and  illustrate  his 
methods  and  his  power. 

339  is  a  delightful  Girolamo  dei  Libri,  a  Virgin  and  Child 
with  St.  Joseph  and  the  angel  Raphael  and  the  youthful 
Tobit,  of  rich  Venetian  style  of  colouring  and  splendid 
accessories.     This  is  a  signed  work. 

333  is  by  the  same  master.  Madonna  and  Child  with  St. 
Andrew  and  St.  Peter,  and  showing  the  Baptism  in  the 
distance,  and  under  it  is  334,  a  splendid  Cima  of  Madonna 
and  Child  with  two  saints,  full  of  the  delicate  refinement  that 
marks  the  best  work  of  that  artist. 

343.  Over  the  door  is  a  good  Caroto,  rich  and  lovely.  It 
depicts  the  Three  Archangels  with  Tobit,  and  is  a  signed 
and  important  work. 

Two  other  Carotos  are  in  this  same  room — 325,  Ma- 
donna and  Child,  and  300,  the  Washing  of  the  Feet — and 
in  these  his  Lombard  style  can  be  seen  and  the  curious 
afifinity  marked  that  he  has  with  such  men  as  Luini  and 
Solario. 

A  fine  Moretto  portrait,  287,  must  not  be  overlooked,  as  it 
is  a  really  good  work,  and  a  signed  and  dated  one,  nor  must 


152  VERONA 

296  be  forgotten,  as  in  this  Madonna  and  Child  with  two 
saints  Torbido  is  thoroughly  Venetian. 

Having  looked  at  these  pictures  we  turn  our  attention  to 
what  hangs  opposite  to  them,  the  fragments  of  miniatures 
from  service-books  executed  by  the  two  great  Veronese 
artists,  who  trained  themselves  by  this  work,  and  very  lovely 
we  shall  find  some  of  this  miniature  work  to  be,  and  full  of 
interest  bearing  upon  the  later  productions  of  these  two 
men,  Liberale  and  Libri. 

Room  VI. 

The  chief  picture  in  this  room  is  the  351,  a  very  fine  work 
by  Carlo  Crivelli,  representing  the  Madonna  and  Child  with 
angels,  and  signed  by  the  artist.  The  hair  of  the  Madonna 
has  been  restored,  otherwise  the  picture  is  in  good  condition. 
392  and  394,  the  Deposition  and  the  Bearing  of  the  Cross, 
are  by  Cavazzola,  and  are  the  finest  works  by  the  master  in 
the  gallery.  They  were  painted  in  15 17,  as  shown  by  the 
inscription,  and  are  full  of  dignity  and  pathos,  but  are  not 
aided  in  their  expression  by  their  colouring. 

365  is  a  Crucifixion,  by  Jacopo  Bellini,  a  solitary,  grand 
work  ;  and  376  (Resurrection)  is  attributed  to  Squarcione, 
and  is  certainly  of  his  school,  and  may  conceivably  have 
some  of  his  own  work  in  it.  There  are  two  very  curious 
early  anconas  in  this  room  that  should  be  marked.  355  is 
by  an  unknown  man  called  Turone,  signed  with  his  name 
and  dated  1360,  and  will  therefore  take  a  place  at  the  very 
beginning  of  Veronese  art.  The  other  one  is  ecjually  early, 
and  is  signed  Stefano  da  Zevio,  and  dated  1363  (374), 
and  these  two  pictures  are  evidence  of  the  existence  at  a 
very  early  date  of  a  school  of  painting  in  the  city  from 
which  descended  the  men  whose  paintings  we  have  been 
examining. 

In  the  remaining  rooms  of  the  gallery  you  need  not  staj', 
as  the  pictures  are  not  worthy  of  your  consideration  after 
these  greater  ones  which  we  have  studied,  and  most  of  them 
are  by  later  or  insignificant  men, 


OTHER   CHURCHES  AND  A    GARDEN       153 

In  Room  XII.  there  are  frescoes,  some  by  Paolo  Veronese 
important  to  a  close  student  of  his  art,  and  a  delightful  one, 
by  Foppa,  of  an  angel  ;  also  the  fine  Morone  fresco  (560)  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  and  frescoes  by  Caroto,  Martino,  and 
Giolfino  ;  but  beyond  these,  you  may  pass  Rooms  VII.  to 
XIII.  and  leave  the  gallery. 


F.  OTHER  CHURCHES,  THE  PIAZZA, 
AND  A  GARDEN 

We  will  now  make  our  way  to  San  Fermo,  one  of  the 
finest  brick  churches  in  Italy,  built  in  the  \^eronese  fashion 
of  alternate  rows  of  brick  and  marble.  Outside  we  shall  see 
a  fine  tomb  of  the  regular  Verona  fashion  under  a  canopy, 
and  attached  to  the  side  of  the  church  on  the  left  of  the 
entrance.  It  is  to  the  memory  of  Fracastoro,  the  chief 
physician  to  Can  Grande,  and  a  man  who  was  held  in  high 
repute,  and  who  in  his  own  special  science  was  far  in 
advance  of  his  compeers.  The  door  by  which  we  enter  is 
the  one  at  the  left  of  the  church,  as  the  chief  central  door 
(close  to  the  tomb)  is  but  seldom  opened.  The  interior  is 
remarkable,  as  there  are  no  aisles,  and  the  roof,  which  will 
not  fail  to  attract  attention,  is  of  great  beauty.  It  is  made 
of  larch,  and  finely  decorated,  producing  an  excellent  effect. 
The  chief  treasure  which  the  church  contains  is  unfortu- 
nately far  from  being  complete,  but  is  in  a  chapel  opening 
out  from  the  north  side.  It  is  the  tomb  erected  by  Giulio 
and  Raimondo  delle  Torre  to  the  memory  of  their  father 
Girolamo  and  their  brother  Antonio.  The  father  and  son 
were  both  of  them  leading  physicians  at  Padua,  and  taught 
in  the  University,  and  the  monument  is  by  Riccio,  a  Paduan 
architect.  It  is  of  marble,  and  has  upon  it  some  very  grand 
bronze  ornaments,  but  the  best  of  these  works  were  carried 
off  to  Paris,  and  still  remain  in  the  Louvre,  and  are  replaced 
on  the  tomb  by  copies.  What  there  is,  however,  of  the 
original  is  of  great  beauty  and  refinement,  and  demands 
careful  attention.     Having  looked  at  this,  let  me  take  you 


154  VERONA 

into  the  Chapel  of  the  Sacrament,  which  is  a  large  one  on 
the  left,  and  we  will  look  at  the  masterpiece  by  Caroto 
which  I  have  already  mentioned.  It  is  signed  and  dated 
1528,  and  is  by  far  the  best  work  that  this  very  unequal 
artist  ever  did,  and  is  of  glorious  rich  colouring.  It  depicts 
the  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Anna,  and  below  are  four 
saints,  St  John,  St.  Peter,  St.  Roch,  and  St.  Sebastian.  The 
pulpit  is  worth  attention,  as  the  canopy  is  the  work  of  an 
important  artist,  Barnabo  da  Modena,  who  lived  and  died  in 
Verona  and  whose  tomb  is  close  to  his  pulpit  in  the  fourth 
chapel  on  the  right,  with  a  recumbent  figure  upon  it.  He 
is  said  "to  have  carved  the  tomb  during  his  lifetime,  and 
placed  it  in  the  church  in  the  place  that  had  been  allotted 
to  him  for  a  burial-place.  There  is  a  fine  work  by  Domenico 
Morone,  near  the  choir,  of  three  saints,  and  there  is  a  work  by 
Torbido  in  his  pre- Venetian  style  in  the  third  chapel  on 
the  right,  but  the  chief  sights  in  this  church  are  the  building 
itself,  the  Caroto,  and  the  splendid  tomb. 

Now  let  us  cross  again  the  Ponte  Navi  as  if  we  were 
going  to  the  picture  gallery,  but  turn  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  the  left,  and  go  along  the  Via  Scrimiari  and  the  Via 
Seminario  to  the  Church  of  Sta.  Maria  in  Organo,  and  at 
once  ask  for  the  Sacristy.  As  we  enter  it  we  shall  see  a 
lovely  painting  by  Girolamo  dei  Libri,  a  Virgin  and  Child 
Avith  St.  Catherine  and  St.  Stephen,  a  sunny  picture  full  of 
delightful  work.  The  architecture,  the  leaves,  the  fruit,  the 
effect  of  sunlight,  all  render  this  altar-piece,  which  has  un- 
fortunately been  injured  by  cutting,  one  of  the  most  charming 
pictures  by  Libri  to  be  seen  in  Verona,  and  if  you  look  well 
at  it  you  will  get  an  idea  of  his  fascination  that  will  help  you 
to  understand  him  and  appreciate  the  beauty  of  his  work. 
Now  turn  into  the  **  Sacristy  and  here  you  will  find  the 
best  examples  of  Francesco  Morone,  and  a  most  charming 
room.  All  along  the  wall  are  half-length  figures  of  Olivetan 
monks  in  their  delightful  white  habits,  recalling  the  famous 
series  painted  at  Monte  Oliveto  by  Sodoma,  and  in  the 
lunettes  are  portraits  of  the  Popes  who  sprang  from  that 
Order.     The  decorative  effect  of  all   this   is   quite   lovely, 


OTHER   CHURCHES  AND   A    GARDEN       155 

but  the  finest  piece  is  to  be  seen  far  up  in  the  corner,  half 
hidden  by  the  cupboard.  It  is  a  portrait  of  the  clever  monk 
who  did  the  intarsia  work  in  this  church,  Fra  Giovanni, 
who  died  in  1520,  and  who  was  one  of  the  greatest  masters 
of  this  method  of  working  that  Italy  ever  produced.  The 
inlaid  work  in  this  sacristy  and  also  in  the  choir  is  all 
his  doing  and  very  remarkable  it  is.  Go  carefully  round 
both  series  of  panels  and  mark  them  well.  You  will 
notice  how  important  they  are  from  another  point  of  view, 
as  they  represent  scenes  in  the  city  that  have  long  since 
altered,  and  scenes  in  Rome,  and  are  therefore  permanent 
records  of  matters  of  fact.  When  the  great  flood  over- 
took Verona  in  1882  these  fine  pieces  of  wood- work 
were  in  the  greatest  danger,  and  were  in  fact  at  one 
time  entirely  covered  by  the  torrent,  but  were  rescued  as 
very  precious  treasures,  and  carefully  cleaned  from  the 
mud  and  water,  and  we  are  still  able  to  appreciate  their 
beauty.  Notice  also  the  crisp  carving  near  to  the  intarsia 
panels,  which  is  also  the  work  of  the  same  monk,  and  do 
not  hurry  away  from  these  panels,  as  they  are  as  fine  of 
their  kind  as  you  will  ever  see.  Amongst  the  views  you 
will  see  the  Arena,  the  Castel  San  Pietro,  the  various 
houses  of  the  Order  near  by  and  at  Siena,  both  interior 
and  exterior  views,  the  Porta  Borsari,  the  Castel  Vecchio, 
and  the  streets  of  Verona  showing  even  the  floods  that  have 
always  been  one  of  the  chief  troubles  of  the  city. 

Having  studied  all  this  work  to  your  heart's  content,  then 
turn  attention  to  some  of  the  other  treasures  in  the  church. 
There  is  a  splendid  candelabrum  in  the  choir  of  the  monks, 
carved  out  of  walnut  wood  by  another  monk,  one  Fra 
Giacomo,  who  spent  his  life  doing  in  his  spare  time  this 
splendid  work.  It  is  well  worth  attention.  In  the  third 
chapel  is  another  painting,  by  Francesco  Morone,  represent- 
ing the  Madonna  and  Child  with  St.  Augustine  and  St. 
Martin,  signed  and  dated  1503,  and  in  the  right  transept  is 
a  good  example  of  the  pictures  of  Guercino  of  St,  Francesca 
Romana,  not  as  unpleasant  as  that  artist's  pictures  so  often 
are.     The  choir  is  painted  by  Farinati,  and  by  Brusasorci, 


156  VERONA 

and  the  painting  by  the  latter  is  worth  your  notice,  but  that 
of  Farinati  lacks  expression  and  interest.  As  you  leave  the 
church,  notice  the  Campanile  which  was  erected  from  the 
design  of  the  clever  monk  who  did  the  intarsia  work  that 
you  have  just  been  admiring  inside. 

Now  I  want  to  give  you  a  pleasure  of  quite  a  different 
kind.  We  vi'ill  leave  churches  and  pictures  for  a  while  and 
see  nature.  From  this  church  go  along  the  Via  Giardino, 
stop  at  the  *  Palazzo  Giusti  and  go  into  the  entrance 
court  and  cross  it  and  ring  the  bell  at  the  gate  for  the 
gardener.  A  charming  young  woman  will  at  once  admit  you 
into  the  garden,  which  by  the  great  kindness  of  the  owners 
the  public  are  allowed  to  visit,  but  which  very  few  persons 
see  as  the  privilege  is  not  generally  known.  You  will  find 
before  you  a  magnificent  avenue  of  tall  cypresses,  and  on 
either  side  beds  of  flowers  of  glowing  colour.  Pass  up  the 
avenue  by  the  little  paddock  in  which  are  some  charming 
tame  deer  and  gazelles,  and  continue  up  the  ascent  until  you 
come  to  a  staircase  in  a  sort  of  summer  house.  Ascend  this 
and  you  will  find  yourself  on  a  higher  level  yet  of  the  garden, 
and  then  continue  to  ascend  and  you  will  eventually  reach 
another  summer-house  which  also  you  can  ascend  if  you 
like,  but  if  you  have  done  enough  climbing  then  sit  down 
and  rest  and  look  out  over  the  incomparably  lovely  scene 
before  you.  Hardly  any  city  is  more  lovely  in  its  situation 
than  Verona,  and  from  this  garden  you  look  all  over  the 
place.  You  mark  the  Adige,  source  of  life  and  also  source 
of  danger  to  the  Veronese,  winding  its  way  in  and  out  of  the 
city.  You  see  the  rear  view  of  San  Fermo,  stately  in  its 
deep  red  brick-work,  and  you  gaze  right  out  to  where  the 
lovely  Campanile  of  San  Zeno  points  towards  the  sky.  You 
can  see  the  Duomo  and  St.  Anastasia  and  many  other  of  the 
churches,  but  you  can  hear  not  a  sound,  and  around  you  are 
the  trees,  and  above  you  is  a  glorious  blue  sky,  and,  believe 
me,  you  are  gazing  upon  one  of  the  fairest  views  that  you 
will  see  in  your  travels,  even  finer,  because  more  varied  and 
richer  in  colour,  than  the  view  over  Rome  from  the  Pincian 
Hill.     You  are  welcome  to  stay  as  long  in  these  gardens  as 


OTHER    CHURCHES   AND   A    GARDEN       157 

you  may  please,  and  if  you  have  brought  any  lunch  with  you 
can  eat  it  as  you  sit  on  the  high  terrace  close  to  the  wall  of 
the  top  summer-house,  and  then  with  your  field-glasses  you 
can  sweep  the  horizon,  finding  every  moment  some  new 
sight  upon  which  to  feast  your  eyes. 

I  said  that  I  was  not  going  to  bother  you  as  to  views,  but 
this  is  the  exception  to  my  rule,  and  I  make  it  because  it 
enables  you  to  see  what  a  good  Italian  garden  is  like,  and 
because  you  can  gain  it  without  any  long  staircase  and  with- 
out entering  into  any  stuffy  tower.  Sit  for  a  moment  and 
think  over  the  sights  we  have  seen.  We  have  commenced 
with  Roman  times,  and  have  seen  the  Arena,  the  Theatre, 
and  some  mosaic  pavements  ;  then  we  have  moved  on  to  the 
Gothic  times  and  the  period  of  Theodoric,  not  forgetting 
that  period  of  Gallienus  which  is  very  much  later  than 
the  time  that  saw  the  early  Roman  buildings,  and  from  the 
Gothic  times  we  have  come  to  the  eighth  and  eleventh 
century  in  San  Stefano  and  then  to  the  twelfth  in  San 
Zeno.  We  have  noticed  Lombard  work  in  the  reliefs  that 
we  have  seen  in  the  porches,  on  the  huge  font,  and  inside 
some  of  the  churches  ;  and  then  we  have  seen  the  thirteenth- 
century  work  in  the  building  of  St.  Anastasia  and  many 
of  the  palaces.  A  little  later  on  we  have  seen  San  Fermo, 
and  then  the  series  of  tombs  which  grew  richer  and 
richer  as  the  Renaissance  came  on,  and  from  the  exquisite 
simplicity  of  the  plain  sarcophagi  came  the  Gothic  refine- 
ment of  the  Castelbarco  tomb,  followed  by  the  florid  Can 
Signorio  tomb.  In  the  fifteenth  century  during  the 
Venetian  domination  we  have  seen  the  work  of  Pisanello 
and  his  successors,  and  then,  as  the  Renaissance  opened,  we 
have  seen  its  influence  in  the  successive  artists  of  the 
Veronese  school,  in  the  workers  in  intarsia,  in  the  architects, 
leading  on  up  to  Sanmicheli  ;  in  its  painters  in  miniature 
and  in  its  carvers  in  wood  and  stone.  We  have  followed 
the  art  of  Verona  from  the  early  frescoes  in  San  Zeno 
down  to  the  dry  and  uninteresting  work  of  Farinato  who 
died  in  1606.  And  now  let  us  descend  from  our  elevation 
and  go  and  spend  a  time  in  the  famous  Piazza  dell'  Erbe, 


158  VERONA 

which,  more  than  any  other  part  of  Verona,  reflects  its 
grandeur  and  shows  the  moving  Hfe  of  the  city  as  it  now  is. 

We  leave  the  garden  reluctantly,  as  it  is  so  lovely,  and 
giving  the  fair  custodian  a  trifle  as  we  go  out,  pass  again 
into  the  busy  city.  If  we  have  time  we  can  visit  the 
Church  of  San  Nazaro  e  Celso  close  by,  and  see  a  lovely 
work  by  Bonsignori,  a  rich  Montegna,  and  some  interesting 
works  by  Farinato,  and  the  earliest  fresco-work  in  Italy 
after  the  period  of  the  Roman  catacombs.  We  can  look  on 
our  way  back  to  the  hotel  at  the  Church  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury,  and  see  the  tomb  of  Sanmicheli,  and  some 
paintings  by  Brusasorci,  and  notice  the  curious  frescoes  on 
the  houses  near  by,  and  we  can  see  some  lovely  tombs  out- 
side the  Church  of  SS.  Apostoli  close  to  the  house  where 
Giolfino  lived  which  is  still  covered  with  the  remains  of 
fresco-work  (near  the  Porta  Borsari).  In  Santa  Eufemia 
we  can  see  another  superb  tomb,  fine  even  in  this  city  of 
grand  tombs,  and  supported  on  great  carved  brackets,  and  a 
very  curious  early  fresco  by  Stefano  da  Zevio,  and  we  can 
see  two  more  fine  tombs  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria 
della  Scala,  a  little  church  in  the  Via  Scala,  with  a 
delightful  portico. 

None  of  these  sights  we  need  see,  although  all  are 
well  worth  seeing,  but  the  **Piazza  dell'  Erbe  we  mtis^ 
see.  I  would  recommend  you  to  go  early  in  the  morn- 
ing when  the  market  is  in  full  swing,  as  then  the 
gaily  coloured  umbrellas  are  all  up  over  the  stalls 
with  which  the  piazza  is  filled,  and  the  place  is  much 
more  picturesque  than  in  the  afternoon  when  it  is  cleared 
up,  and  the  gossiping  old  women  with  their  fruit  and 
vegetables  and  animals  are  all  gone  ;  but  whenever  you 
see  it  and  at  any  hour  of  the  day  it  is  charming.  It 
was  the  Forum  in  Roman  times,  it  became  the  centre 
of  the  city  in  the  Scaliger  period,  and  from  it  the  laws 
were  promulgated  ;  and  then  in  the  time  of  the  Venetian 
domination  it  again  took  high  place,  and  from  it  were  the 
decrees  of  the  great  Republic  announced,  and  even  now  all 
the  life  of  Verona  centres  around  this  piazza.     Notice  the 


OTHER   CHURCHES  AND   A    GARDEN       159 

fountain  in  the  midst,  which  was  originally  erected  by  a 
Lombard  king,  it  is  said,  in  the  tenth  century,  but  was 
enlarged,  beautified,  and  supplied  with  a  better  supply  of 
water  by  Can  Signorio  in  1370.  Mark  the  little  open  Berlina 
in  the  very  centre  where  the  Scaligeri  took  the  oaths  before 
their  people,  where  the  laws  were  promulgated,  and  where 
sentences  were  pronounced,  and  then  further  on  see  the  tall 
column  of  red  marble  on  which  is  the  lion  of  St.  Mark,  the 
symbol  of  the  power  of  the  great  Republic.  When  the  rule 
of  Venice  over  Verona  ceased,  the  lion  was  gladly  over- 
thrown, but  it  has  since  been  replaced,  as  now  it  is  only  a 
symbol  of  a  memory,  and  does  not  stand  for  the  sign  of  a 
great  power. 

All  around  the  piazza  are  fine  buildings.  On  one  side 
is  the  Casa  del  Mercanti  with  its  arcade,  which  was 
built  by  Alberto  I.  in  the  year  of  his  death,  and  was  opposite 
to  his  own  residence.  At  the  end  of  the  piazza  is  the 
Palazzo  Maffei  (or  Tresa),  which  has  a  very  curious  and 
well-designed  circular  staircase  which  you  can  see  if  you 
walk  into  the  courtyard,  and  at  the  corner  is  the  Palazzo 
dell  Ragione,  now  used  as  a  Court-house.  Turn  down  by 
this  palace  along  the  Via  Costa  and  you  will  be  in  the  next 
piazza,  Piazza  dei  Signori,  looking  once  more  at  the  palaces 
of  the  Scaligeri,  now  called  the  Tribunale  and  the  Prefettura, 
which  are  on  its  south  side.  Opposite  to  them  is  the  Loggia 
or  Old  Town  Hall,  which  was  erected  from  the  designs  of 
another  clever  monk,  one  Fra  Giocondo,  and  is  one  of 
the  loveliest  buildings  in  Italy,  very  rich  in  fine  detail.  The 
effigy  of  the  monk  can  be  seen  on  the  left  corner  pillar. 
He  was  an  excellent  architect,  and  designed  many  buildings 
in  Verona,  and  even  went  as  far  as  France,  besides  working 
in  Venice  and  Rome.  His  sculptured  decorations  are  always 
rich  and  graceful.  You  will  mark  the  Annunciation  in  bronze 
over  the  portal,  a  good  work  by  Girolamo  da  Campagna, 
and  then  up  above  it  you  will  see  the  statues  of  the  famous 
men  connected  with  the  city,  Pliny,  Catullus,  and  others.  The 
fine  tower  opposite  will  attract  attention,  and  the  splendid 
staircase  leading  to  it,  and  close  by  the  Scaligeri  Palace  is  a 


i6o  VERONA 

delightful  courtyard  that  is  worth  seeing,  and  in  which  there 
is  a  covered  staircase  under  an  arcade  of  good  brick-work. 

You  will  notice  that  I  have  said  nothing  as  to  the  Tomb 
of  Juliet,  and  it  is  because  that  which  is  now  shown  as  the 
tomb  is  a  shocking  fraud,  and  the  original  tomb  has  long 
since  been  destroyed.  There  is  not  even  a  house  that  can 
with  any  degree  of  certainty  be  called  the  residence  of 
either  family,  whether  Montague  or  Capulet,  and  all  that  are 
pointed  out  by  officious  guides  may  be  taken  to  have  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  family  or  the  story.  There  is  plenty 
to  see  in  Verona  without  wasting  time,  money,  and  emotion 
in  looking  at  frauds. 


.^  2l3. 


PADUA 

A.  INTRODUCTORY 

THE  work  of  Giotto  in  the  little  Arena  Chapel  at  one 
end  of  the  town  and  the  cult  of  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua  in  the  great  Church  of  II  Santo  at  the  other 
end  form  the  chief  attractions  to  this  little  city,  and  render 
it  so  interesting  to  the  art  student,  the  ecclesiologist,  the 
architect,  and  the  antiquary.  They  overshadow  all  other 
attractions  in  the  place,  but  they  do  not  complete  the  list 
of  all  that  is  noteworthy  in  Padua,  and  this  we  shall  soon 
ascertain  for  ourselves  as  we  move  about  its  quaint  and 
curious  streets.  It  is  strange  that,  although  the  city  bears 
the  name  of  Padova  la  Dotta  and  is  of  the  greatest  antiquity, 
yet  of  its  earlier  history  there  is  scarcely  any  trace  remain- 
ing that  we  can  find,  and  we  have  from  existing  remains  to 
begin  our  investigations,  not  with  the  Roman  period  of  its 
life,  but  with  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  Its 
origin  is  attributed  by  Virgil  to  Antenor,  mythical  king 
of  Troy  and  brother  of  Priam,  and  you  may  perhaps  be 
recommended  by  some  guide  to  go  and  see  what  is  termed 
the  tomb  of  this  gentleman  ;  but  as  it  is  very  doubtful  as 
to  whether  he  had  an  existence  at  all,  and  the  tomb  that 
bears  his  name  is  quite  as  late  in  date  as  the  ninth  or 
tenth  century,  I  do  not  recommend  you  to  visit  it.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  Padua  in  the  time  of  the  early  Caesars  was 
a  most  important  and  a  very  wealthy  place,  but  its  wealth 
excited  the  cupidity  of  its  enemies,  and  it  was  repeatedly 
attacked  and  overthrown  by  the  Goths  and  other  barba- 
rians, and  to  their  destructive  power  we  owe  it  that  Padua 
contains    no  monuments    of  its    Roman   age   that  are   of 

i6i  J 


i62  PADUA 

importance.  You  will  find  some  few  things  in  the  Museum 
when  we  reach  it,  but  there  is  nothing  of  supreme  im- 
portance such  as  we  have  seen  in  Milan  or  Verona.  In 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  however,  it  took  a 
position  that  we  can  appreciate  by  many  evidences,  but 
although  in  the  strictest  chronological  order  we  ought  to 
begin  our  work  in  Padua  by  the  Palazzo  della  Ragione, 
which  is  the  chief  of  its  buildings  and  was  begun  in  the 
twelfth  century,  yet  so  all-important  in  the  history  of  the 
place  are  the  frescoes  in  the  Arena  Chapel,  and  so  closely 
are  they  connected  with  the  history  of  this  Palazzo  della 
Ragione,  that  I  suggest  we  commence  with  them,  and  on 
leaving  our  hotel  turn  to  the  left  and  find  this  little  shrine 
of  the  art  of  Giotto. 


B.  GIOTTO  IN  PADUA 

The  Chapel  of  the  Madonna  dell'  Arena  stands  close  to 
the  Church  of  the  Eremitani  near  to  the  centre  of  the  city 
and  within  three  minutes'  walk  of  either  of  the  chief  hotels. 
It  is  situate  in  an  oval  garden,  which  still  preserves  the 
outlines  and  site  of  the  ancient  Roman  arena,  and  it  was 
erected  in  1303.  There  was,  in  all  probability,  an  earlier 
church  than  this  one  upon  the  site,  and  Ruskin  tells  us  that 
the  place  had  been  used  for  mystery  plays  connected  with 
the  festival  of  the  Annunciation  before  this  church  was 
erected. 

Its  founder  was  one  Enrico  Scrovegno,  the  wealthy 
son  of  an  avaricious  father,  Rinaldo,  whose  evil  life 
and  cruel  usury  caused  him  to  be  selected  by  Dante  for 
mention  in  the  "  Inferno,"  in  the  seventh  circle  of  which  he 
placed  him.  Rinaldo  was  clearly  a  man  of  very  bad  char- 
acter, and  Dante  speaks  of  him  in  language  of  withering 
scorn  ;  but  his  son,  probably  desiring  to  efface  the  memory 
of  his  father's  unhappy  life  and  also  to  atone  for  his  sins, 
erected  close  to  the  fortress  which  he  had  built  in  the  Arena 
garden  this  charming  little  chapel,  and  sent  for  Giotto  to 


GIOTTO   IN   PADUA  163 

decorate  it  tor  him.  It  is  said  that  he  was  assisted  in  his 
enterprise  by  a  religious  Order  called  the  Cavaliers  of  Mary, 
of  which  Order  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  member,  and 
which  was  established  to  protect  the  dignity  of  the  Virgin 
against  the  attacks  of  heretics.  In  all  probability,  as  Lord 
Lindsay  was  the  first  to  suggest,  the  chapel  was  built  for 
the  use  of  this  Order,  and  in  it  were  its  ceremonies  con- 
ducted, and  hence  the  reason  for  the  subjects  that  Giotto 
was  given  for  his  series  of  frescoes.  Giotto  came  in  to 
decorate  the  chapel  in  1306,  but  whence  he  came  or  how 
Scrovegno  knew  of  his  work,  we  cannot  tell. 

I  must  not  in  this  place  go  into  a  lengthy  statement  as  to 
the  history  of  this  great  master  who  revolutionised  art ; 
but  a  few  words  will  not  be  out  of  place  on  the  change 
which  he  wrought.  Ruskin,  whom  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
overlook  when  Giotto  is  to  be  considered,  and  to  whom 
every  student  of  art  is  deeply  indebted  for  his  able  studies 
of  this  place  and  its  frescoes,  states  that  the  three  innova- 
tions of  Giotto  consisted  in  "  the  introduction  A,  of  gayer 
or  lighter  colours  ;  B,  of  broader  masses  ;  and  0,  of  more 
careful  imitation  of  nature  than  existed  in  the  works  of  his 
predecessors." 

As  to  the  first,  he  draws  attention  to  the  depth  of  the 
colours  in  the  Byzantine  paintings,  in  mosaics,  and  in  manu- 
scripts, and  the  contrast  that  Giotto's  work  affords  to  all  of 
them.  As  to  the  second,  to  the  broad  masses  of  colour  in 
the  draperies  of  Giotto's  work  contrasting  with  the  minute, 
almost  niggling,  style  of  those  who  preceded  him  ;  and  as  to 
the  third  point,  which  is  "  the  great  strength  of  Giotto,"  to 
the  study  of  nature,  that  he  introduced  the  "gestures  of 
living  men,  the  incidents  of  everyday  life,  and  the  portraits 
of  living  persons,"  which  he  was  the  first  to  use  in  fresco 
work.  The  comparison  which  Ruskin  makes  in  more  than 
one  place  in  his  writings  between  the  Pre-Raphaelite  move- 
ment in  England  and  the  movement  initiated  by  Giotto  is 
an  important  and  inspiring  one,  and  helps  us  to  understand 
both  the  opposition  which  the  innovators  received  in  each 
case  and  the  widespread  influence  which  flowed  from  their 


i64  PADUA 

determined  efforts.  The  work  of  a  man  like  Giotto  must 
always  be  interesting  to  the  world.  He  was  one  of  its 
greatest  men,  one  of  its  chiefest  masters  ;  "  not  only,"  as 
Ruskin  states,  "an  accomplished  artist,  but  the  undisputed 
interpreter  of  religious  truth  by  means  of  painting  over  the 
whole  of  Italy."  Amongst  other  qualities  that  we  ought  to 
notice  in  these  frescoes  are  the  following  : — 

Giotto  never  painted  any  other  than  religious  subjects, 
and  we  shall  find  nothing  profane  or  connected  even  with 
heathen  mythology  in  his  works. 

He  painted  with  a  broad  free  hand  and  without  any  of  the 
delicacy  of  finish  that  distinguished  those  who  followed  him, 
such  as  Fra  Angelico,  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  or  even  Altichieri. 

He  tells  his  story  very  simply,  with  as  little  in  the  picture 
as  is  needed  to  explain  the  meaning,  and  with  no  recondite 
symbolism  or  elaborate  imagery.  His  scenes  can  be 
easily  read  and  interpreted,  and  his  symbols  are  simple  and 
easy  to  be  understood. 

His  colouring  is  bold,  grand,  and  impressive,  albeit  light 
in  tone,  and,  again  to  quote  Ruskin,  "  he  has  a  truly  medifEval 
love  of  dividing  his  picture  into  quaint  segments  of  alter- 
nating colour." 

Finally,  his  works  have  no  elaboration  of  shadow,  but  are 
direct  and  true,  and  they  never  contain  any  pictorial 
accessories  which  do  not  necessarily  belong  to  the  telling 
of  the  story,  but  go  straight  to  the  point,  and  having  told 
what  is  desired  should  be  learned,  leave  the  illustration  at 
that  point  and  do  not  elaborate  it  for  the  sake  of  effect. 

I  have,  as  usual,  kept  you  waiting  outside  the  door 
of  the  chapel  sitting  on  the  step  of  the  door,  whilst  you 
read  what  I  have  had  to  say.  I  will  allow  you  now  to 
enter  and  we  will  study  together  this  unrivalled  series  of 
pictures. 

You  will  be  struck  on  entering  by  the  extreme  plainness 
of  the  building.  It  is  a  simple  oblong,  with  six  tall  windows 
on  one  side  and  a  plain  wall  on  the  other,  and  Giotto's 
decoration  covers  the  whole  whether  walls  or  roof  The 
subject  of  the  whole  of  the  coloured  panels  is  the  life  of 


GIOTTO   IN  PADUA  165 

Our  Lord  and  the  life  of  the  Madonna,  while  below,  in 
chiaroscuro,  are  the  Virtues  and  their  antagonistic  Vices. 
At  the  west  end  is  the  Last  Judgment,  and  on  the  eastern 
wall  is  a  Christ  in  Glory.  The  choir  is  not  by  Giotto,  but 
by  one  of  his  pupils  or  followers,  very  probably  by  Taddeo 
Gaddi.  The  chapel  still  belongs  to  the  descendants  of  the 
family  of  its  founder,  and  a  custodian  is  placed  in  charge, 
who  dwells  in  the  house  in  the  garden,  and  who  is  a  well- 
informed  man,  and  he  has  useful  catalogues  to  lend  to 
visitors. 

The  series  of  subjects  is  as  follows,  the  notable  ones  being 
marked  with  an  asterisk  (*)  : — 

1.  The  Rejection  of  the  Offering  of  Joachim  because  he 
had  no  children. 

2.  Joachim  Retires  to  his  Sheepfolds. 

*3.  The  Appearance  of  the  Angel  to  Anna.  A  delight- 
fully simple  naive  scene  in  which  the  humility  of  Anna  is 
clearly  shown. 

4.  The  Sacrifice  of  Joachim.  Notice  that  the  sacrifice 
is  actually  being  burned,  and  the  white  skeleton  entire> 
"  not  a  bone  broken,'"  is  on  the  altar,  also  that  the  hand 
in  the  sky  personifies  the  Creator. 

5.  The  Appearance  of  the  Two  Archangels  to  Joachim,  to 
tell  him  that  his  great  desire  would  be  accomplished. 

*6.  The  Meeting  of  Joachim  and  Anna  at  the  gate. 
This  is  a  very  charming,  sweet  picture,  full  of  tenderness. 

7.  The  Birth  of  the  Madonna. 

8.  The  Presentation  of  the  Madonna.  Notice,  as  Lord 
Lindsay  points  out,  that  the  Madonna  is  not  a  child,  but 
"a  dwarf  woman,"  as  the  painting  of  childhood  was  one 
of  the  later  achievements  of  art,  and  in  Giotto's  time  was 
not  possible. 

9.  The  bringing  of  their  rods  to  the  High  Priest  by  the 
marriageable  men.  Mark  the  skilful  way  in  which  the  face 
of  the  priest  is  painted. 

10.  The  Watching  of  the  Rods  before  the  Altar. 

*  II.  The  Betrothal  of  the  Virgin.  This  scene,  which  was 
to  be  the  prototype  for  so  much  that  is  beautiful  in  Italian 


l66  PADUA 

art,  deserves  careful  attention,  as  in  a  small  space  and 
with  few  figures,  Giotto  has  succeeded  in  giving  a  solem- 
nity and  seriousness  to  the  scene  which  is  very  marked. 
The  anxiety  of  Joseph,  the  timidity  of  the  Virgin,  the  disap- 
pointment of  other  suitors,  and  the  astonishment  of  one 
of  them  are  all  very  noteworthy. 

■*  12.  The  Return  of  the  Madonna  to  her  Home.  Mark  the 
slow,  solemn  swing  of  the  procession  as  it  steadily  moves 
along. 

13  and  14.  The  Annunciation.  These  two  panels  are 
on  each  side  of  the  archway  separated  as  was  so  often 
the  custom  one  from  the  other  by  the  archway.  The  angel 
is  marked  by  great  dignity  and  serenity,  the  Madonna 
is  quiet,  calm,  and  humbly  kneels  to  receive  the  mystic 
message. 

We  now  commence  the  lower  tier  of  panels,  having  com- 
menced at  the  altar  and  come  round  to  it  again. 

*  15.  The  Salutation  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth.  A  homely 
scene,  so  natural,  so  true  to  life,  so  tender,  that  words  are 
not  needed  to  express  its  beauties. 

*  16.  The  Nativity,  and  the  Appearance  to  the  Shep- 
herds. Mark  how  the  Madonna  is  herself  attending  to  her 
first-born  babe,  and  notice  the  delight  of  the  angels  and 
their  movements. 

17.  The  Offering  of  the  Magi.  The  camels  are  comical, 
but  no  doubt  the  best  attempt  that  Giotto  could  make  of  a 
beast  that  he  had  never  seen,  but  the  kingly  dignity  that  he 
gives  to  the  whole  scene  is  remarkable.  Ruskin  points  out 
that  an  angel  stands  to  receive  the  gifts  which  the  king 
himself  would  just  touch  in  token  of  acceptance  and  then 
pass  on  to  his  attendant. 

18.  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple.  Notice  how  curi- 
ously the  Child  is  struggling  to  leave  the  arms  of  the  old 
Man  and  return  to  His  Mother,  so  perfectly  natural,  and  so 
true  to  life.  See  also  the  angel  coming  to  give  the  message 
to  Simeon,  and  mark  the  scroll  carried  by  Anna  which 
bears  the  words  on  it  :  "  Quoniam  in  isto  erit  redemptio 
seculi"  (Since  in  Him  shall  be  the  redemption  of  the  race). 


GIOTTO   IN   PADUA  167 

19.  The  Flight  into  Egypt.  The  effect  of  its  being  night 
is  well  conveyed  by  the  dense  black  of  some  of  the  draperies, 
and  by  the  unusual  arrangement  of  the  lights. 

20.  The  Massacre  of  the  Innocents.  An  unsatisfactory 
panel. 

21.  Christ  in  the  Temple.  Too  much  injured  to  be  pro- 
perly seen. 

22.  The  Baptism  of  Our  Lord.  Both  Perugino  and 
Francia  seem  to  have  adopted  in  their  treatment  of  this 
subject  the  idea  set  in  this  panel  by  Giotto.  In  this  more 
than  in  any  other  scene  is  the  influence  of  the  old  mosaicists 
of  Ravenna  to  be  seen.  It  is  more  purely  Byzantine  than 
any  other  of  the  panels. 

23.  The  Marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee. 

*  24.  The  Raising  of  Lazarus.  This  is  one  of  the  finest 
scenes  in  the  series,  the  astonishment  and  almost  repugnance 
of  the  bystanders  is  so  well  represented,  the  fright  of  others, 
and  the  pallid  whiteness  of  Lazarus,  who  so  evidently  is  only 
just  returning  to  life. 

25.  Our  Lord  Riding  into  Jerusalem. 

26.  The  Expulsion  of  the  Traders  from  the  Temple. 

27.  Judas  receiving  the  Money  from  the  High  Priest. 
Mark  the  demon  behind  the  traitor. 

Now  we  commence  the  third  tier. 

28.  The  Last  Supper.  This  is  quite  a  different  scene  from 
those  which  were  painted  later  on  by  Italian  artists.  There 
is  here  no  sign  of  excitement  or  anxiety,  and  the  moment 
has  evidently  not  yet  arrived  when  the  tragic  words  have 
been  spoken.  Giotto  has  just  represented  here  a  quiet  party 
of  friends  saddened  by  the  thought  that  their  Head  is  about 
to  leave  them,  and  engaged  in  serious  conversation. 

*  29.  The  Washing  of  the  Feet  of  the  Apostles.  Notice 
that  this  takes  place  in  the  same  room  as  the  foregoing 
scene,  and  that  the  Twelve  Disciples  are  present  as,  accord- 
ing to  Giotto's  idea,  Judas  had  not  yet  left. 

30.  The  Kiss  of  Judas.  Mark  how  Giotto  has  represented 
the  traitor,  not  as  a  foully  wicked  man,  but  as  a  fat,  stupid 
fool. 


i68  PADUA 

31.  Christ  before  Caiaphas. 

32.  The  Scourging  of  Our  Lord.  The  patience  of  Our 
Lord  under  suffering  appears  to  be  the  chief  thought  in  the 
artist's  mind. 

*33.  Christ  Bearing  His  Cross.  A  wonderful  fresco,  in 
which  the  central  figure  stands  out  sublimely  from  all  those 
around  it.  Mark  the  taunts  of  the  men  who  stand  near,  and 
also  the  way  in  which  the  women  are  roughly  held  back 
from  approaching  too  close. 

*  34.  The  Crucifixion.  The  figure  of  the  Magdalen  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cross  appears  in  almost  every  Italian  repre- 
sentation of  this  great  scene.  Mark  also  the  hand  of  the 
centurion  pointing  up  at  the  Cross. 

*35.  The  Deposition  from  the  Cross.  A  wonderful  scene 
of  sorrow,  one  of  Giotto's  most  touching  and  pathetic  re- 
presentations. Every  figure  in  this  picture  is  worth 
attention. 

*36.  The  Resurrection.  A  very  lovely  fresco.  The 
angel  is  beautiful.  The  Christ  is  full  of  dignity,  and  the 
No//  Jiie  tangere  is  well  expressed  by  His  action.  Mark 
also  how  thoroughly  asleep  the  soldiers  are,  and  how  natural 
are  their  attitudes. 

yj.  The  Ascension.  Notice  how,  as  Ruskin  points  out, 
Giotto  has  shown  the  entire  figure  ascending  up  to  heaven, 
and  not  a  part  only,  and  also  note  how  the  curved  lines, 
both  of  the  figure  and  of  the  two  groups  of  angels,  give  the 
appearance  of  slow,  swinging,  upward  movement  that  is  so 
desirable  in  such  a  scene. 

38.  The  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Having  gone  round  the  entire  series  very  carefully  and 
without  hurry,  let  me  beg  you  to  return  again  to  the  altar, 
and  begin  on  the  left  to  examine  with  equal  care  the 
symbolical  paintings  that  adorn  the  lowest  tier  of  the  walls. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  in  some  of  the  coloured  frescoes 
Giotto  had  the  assistance  of  some  of  his  pupils,  although  the 
idea  in  every  case  is  entirely  his  own,  and  probably  the 
greater  part  of  the  execution  ;  but  it  is  a  tradition  in 
the    chapel    that   whatever   he    may   have    received    in    the 


GIOTTO   IN   PADUA  169 

way  of  help  as  to  these  works,  he  did  the  symbolical 
paintings  entirely  himself  receiving  no  aid  from  any  one 
with  them  They  are  arranged  in  pairs,  each  pair  being  a 
Virtue  and  a  Vice  contrasting  one  with  the  other  on 
opposite  walls,  and  therefore  it  is  desirable  that  you 
should  move  from  one  side  of  the  chapel  to  the  other  in 
your  examination  of  them  in  order  to  fully  understand  their 
teaching.  The  \'irtues  look  towards  the  Christ  in  Glory, 
but  the  Vices  in  the  opposite  direction,  towards  the  Last 
Judgment. 

I.  Prudence.  Janus-headed,  gazing  at  a  convex  mirror, 
and  holding  a  pair  of  compasses. 

lA.  Folly  represented  in  the  dress  of  a  fool. 

3.  Fortitude.  A  resolute  figure,  clad  in  armour  and  wear- 
ing the  skin  of  a  lion,  waiting  behind  her  shield  on  which  is 
a  lion  and  the  broken  heads  of  spears,  and  armed  with  a 
weapon  with  which,  when  called  upon  to  use,  she  is  prepared 
to  defend  herself 

2A.  Inconstancy.  A  girl  trying  to  balance  herself  upon 
a  whirling  ball  and  falling  in  the  attempt. 

3.  Temperance.  Mark  the  bit  in  her  mouth  and  the  care 
with  which  she  is  binding  the  sword  which  she  holds  into 
its  scabbard  that  it  shall  not  be  readily  withdrawn. 

3A.  Anger.  A  furious  woman  tearing  open  her  clothes 
and  doing  herself  bodily  harm. 

4.  Justice.  This  and  its  opposite  Vice  are  much  more 
elaborately  symbolical  than  those  which  precede  them. 
Justice  is  seated  upon  her  throne  holding  the  scales  one  in 
each  hand.  In  one  is  represented  an  angel  crowning  the 
good  ;  in  the  other  an  executioner  slaying  the  criminal  with 
a  sword.  Below  her  feet  is  a  panel  in  which  various 
persons  are  going  about  their  business  in  a  happy,  pros- 
perous manner,  proving  the  security  of  good  government. 

4A.  Injustice.  Here  is  a  giant  sitting  at  the  door  of  his 
castle,  hut  the  path  up  to  him  is  overgrown  with  thorns  and 
briars.  His  countenance  is  of  a  forbidding  character,  his 
fingers  are  terminated  with  claws,  and  he  holds  a  hook  iu 
one  hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other.     Below,  in  the  predella 


I70  PADUA 

panel,  can  be  seen  murders  and  assaults,  the  miseries  of  a 
weak  and  cruel  government. 

5.  Faith.  She  grasps  the  cross  in  one  hand,  and  in  the 
other  holds  a  scroll  on  which  are  the  words  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed.  At  her  feet  she  tramples  upon  the  various  objects 
connected  with  astrological  lore. 

5A.  Unbelief.  A  man  who  turns  his  back  upon  the 
message  from  heaven  which  the  Almighty  Father  holds  out 
to  him,  but  moves  to  the  flames  of  fire,  turning  his  gaze 
towards  an  image  of  Idolatry  which  is  tied  round  his  neck 
and  to  which  he  is  bound.  His  eyes  are  overshadowed  by 
the  broad  brim  of  his  helmet  so  "  that  he  shall  not  see." 

6.  Love.  She  receives  gifts  from  Heaven  and  gives  them 
out  to  others.  Her  face  is  full  of  joy,  and  she  stands  upon 
the  treasures  of  the  earth. 

6a.  Envy.  An  old  woman  standing  in  flames  ;  her  fingers 
are  those  of  a  wolf,  and  she  has  the  ears  also  of  that  terrible 
beast.  A  serpent  comes  out  of  her  mouth,  and  turns  to  bite 
her  face,  she  attempts  to  grasp,  and  fails,  and  her  face  bears 
a  most  malignant  look. 

7.  Hope.  She  rises,  stretching  out  towards  the  crown 
which  the  angel  is  bringing  to  her,  and  her  feet  leave  the 
ground  as  she  rises  up  from  the  earth  to  "  things  above." 

7A.  Despair.  A  woman  who  has  hanged  herself  at  the 
instigation  of  the  foul  spirit  who  has  come  for  her  soul. 

There  yet  remain  for  examination  the  Christ  in  Glory 
over  the  arch  of  the  altar,  and  the  Last  Judgment  on  the  west 
wall.  The  former  is  not  in  good  condition,  and  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  make  out  whether  it  is  intended  for  a  representa- 
tion of  the  Christ  or  of  the  Almighty  Father,  but  it  is 
believed  to  be  the  Christ.  All  around  are  throngs  of  ador- 
ing angels.  The  Last  Judgment  derives  its  special  interest 
from  the  little  group  in  the  centre,  quite  unconnected  with 
the  general  character  of  the  work,  in  which  Enrico  Scrovegno 
is  seen  accompanied  by  a  monk,  perhaps  the  one  in  whose 
custody  the  chapel  was  first  placed  and  who  was  to  officiate 
at  its  altar,  presenting  his  chapel  to  three  angels  or  arch- 
angels, who  are  receiving  it  at  his  hands  and  addressing  him. 


GIOTTO   IN   PADUA  171 

We  have  now  seen  all  that  is  Giotto's  work  in  this  chapel, 
and  a  few  more  words  as  to  its  value  may  not  be  out  of  place. 
It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  frescoes  are  beautiful  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  It  will  yet  be  found  on 
careful  examination  that  they  are  most  beautiful,  and  herein 
is,  of  course,  the  paradox.  The  drawing  is  quaint  and 
inaccurate,  the  figures  are  wooden,  and  some  of  them 
almost  lifeless.  The  buildings  are  absurd,  and  are  supported 
upon  long  attenuated  columns  that  would  not  hold  the  build- 
ings in  their  position  and  would  fall  by  reason  of  their  very 
length  and  weakness.  The  animals  are  quite  ridiculous. 
Many  of  the  persons  depicted  are  too  long,  too  thin,  and 
ha\e  no  proportion  and  no  proper  form.  The  colouring  is 
in  places  weak,  the  grouping  is  poor,  the  scenes  at  times 
almost  laughable  in  their  quaint  conceit — and  yet  these 
frescoes  are  among  the  world's  greatest  treasures  ;  have 
Ijeen  visited  with  eager  desire  and  studied  with  profound 
attention  by  all  the  great  artists  of  the  world  ;  have  received 
the  closest  attention  from  students  ;  and  are  reckoned  as  chief 
amongst  the  works  of  the  earliest  Renaissance.  What  is  the 
reason  for  all  this  attractive  force  ?  Why  are  these  frescoes 
so  important  to  the  student?  I  hope  that  having  gone 
round  and  looked  at  them,  some  part  of  the  answer  to  this 
question  will  be  found  in  your  own  mind. 

It  is  not  only  because  in  Giotto  we  have  the  very  be- 
ginning of  the  art  of  painting  ;  that  in  him  we  see  the 
precursor,  the  innovator,  the  original  genius,  and  that  in 
his  work  we  see  the  origin  of  that  vast  Renaissance  move- 
ment that  was  to  spread  all  over  Italy  and  produce  so 
many  wonderful  paintings,  buildings,  and  sculpture,  although 
that  aspect  of  his  work  is  an  interesting  one  ;  but  it  was 
because  in  his  frescoes  we  ha\'e  the  work  of  a  man  of  pro- 
found reverence,  of  absolute  truth,  and  of  consummate  know- 
ledge. From  the  stiff  formalism  that  had  clothed  the  art 
of  painting  in  rigid  lines  Giotto  broke  forth.  He  represented 
things  as  he  saw  them,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  with  the 
best  of  his  knowledge,  and  in  a  simple,  direct  manner. 

He   was    all    the    time    profoundly    reverent    as   to   the 


172  PADUA 

character  of  the  scenes  he  was  painting,  but  he  never  forgot 
the  claims  of  his  art,  and  with  that  marvellous  insight  that 
he  possessed,  he  seized  hold  instinctively  of  the  essential 
in  drawing,  and  left  alone  the  purely  accessory. 

His  work  is  straight  to  the  point,  clear  and  incisive  as  the 
note  of  a  bell,  firm  and  definite,  so  that  it  can  almost  be  felt 
and  taken  hold  of ;  telling  its  story  in  so  distinct  a  manner 
that  its  meaning  never  can  be  missed,  significant,  earnest 
and  intense,  and  therefore  by  its  very  convincing  truth,  it 
appeals  at  once  to  the  mind  of  the  man  who  studies  it.  It 
conveys  to  him  the  knowledge  that  here  is  the  message  of 
an  artist  who  has  a  gospel  to  proclaim,  and  who  has  the 
power  to  demand  attention  at  once  and  create  an  emotion 
suitable  to  what  he  has  to  say. 

There  is  nothing  in  these  frescoes  that  is  not  needed, 
there  is  no  line  without  its  purpose,  nothing  in  the  way 
of  wasted  energy,  and  as  the  Castelbarco  monument  at 
Verona  was  so  plain,  so  severe  in  its  lines,  and  yet  when 
investigated  was  found  to  be  so  complete  in  all  its  details 
and  so  perfect  in  the  way  in  which  it  illustrated  its  own 
erection  and  stability,  so  in  the  same  way  are  these  frescoes 
complete  as  works  of  art  although  the  work  of  a  man  who 
knew  but  little  about  drawing  or  perspective.  Giotto  was  but 
at  the  beginning  of  the  long  road  of  painting.  He  had  never 
seen  such  creatures  as  he  introduced  into  his  frescoes,  but  yet 
he  presented  his  message  with  that  absolute  truth  which 
makes  it  convincing,  and  which  proves  an  insight  into  life 
and  a  knowledge  of  human  nature  marking  him  out  from 
his  fellow-men. 

Gaze  on  these  silent  walls,  eloquent  with  all  the  story 
painted  upon  them  700  years  ago,  which  has  remained 
to  teach  the  greatest  men  of  each  successive  century,  and 
realise  how  noble  a  man  was  the  happy,  bright,  popular 
Giotto  who  laboured  here  in  this  little  room,  doing  his  best 
for  the  prince  who  had  commissioned  his  work,  putting  his 
whole  heart  into  the  labour,  and  working  for  untold  genera- 
tions to  admire  and  to  love  that  expression  of  his  genius 
with  \\hicii  he  clothed  the  bare  walls. 


GIOTTO   IN  PADUA  173 

The  decoration  of  the  chapel  is,  besides  all  this,  a  work 
of  the  greatest  charm  in  its  general  effect.  The  beauty 
of  each  panel  has  not  been  sacrificed  to  the  effect  of 
the  whole,  the  co-relation  of  panel  with  panel  and  colour 
with  colour  has  never  been  forgotten  ;  and  to  throw  up 
the  works  in  colour  to  greater  effect,  the  architectural 
character  of  the  lowest  tier,  with  its  marble-like  pilasters 
and  its  grey  symbolic  scenes  so  bold  and  strong,  was 
specially  prepared  that  the  entire  decoration  might  be 
welded  together. 

Above  is  the  deep  blue  sky,  represented  dotted  with 
numberless  stars,  from  which  the  prophets  gaze  forth. 

The  whole  thing  is  complete,  nothing  has  been  forgotten, 
and  there  is  no  room  in  Italy  or  in  Europe  that  is  so  worthy 
of  attention  as  this  little  Chapel  of  the  Arena,  nor  any  which 
has  excited  the  eloquence  of  the  greatest  of  the  writers  and 
speakers  of  the  world,  and  with  so  much  reason  for  all  their 
eloquence. 

Beauty  alone,  to  return  to  my  first  paradox,  is  not  the 
eniotion  that  is  produced  by  a  burst  of  colour,  or  the  con- 
templation of  an  absolutely  perfect  work  of  art.  It  is  pro- 
duced by  "  a  multiplicity  of  symmetrical  parts  uniting  in  a 
consistent  whole."  As  a  great  writer  has  said,  it  is  "  multitude 
in  unity"  ;  it  is  the  result  of  the  qualities  of  truth  and  rever- 
ence, and  that  which  is  untrue  or  irreverent  can  never  be 
truly  beautiful  ;  and  therefore  while  perfection  is  not  to  be 
looked  for  in  the  Arena  Chapel,  truth  and  reverence  are  to 
be  there  so  strikingly  found  that  beauty  follows  as  a  needful 
consequence. 

Let  us  now  go  into  the  choir,  which  is  painted  with  the 
history  of  the  \'^irgin'_as  is  the  larger  chapel,  but  the  scenes  in 
which  the  story  is  told  are  far  inferior  in  interest  to  those  of 
Giotto,  are  deeper  in  colour,  and  are  not  marked  by  the  same 
earnestness  that  distinguishes  the  master's  work.  Behind 
the  altar  is  the  tomb  of  the  founder,  who  died  in  exile  in 
\'enice  in  1320,  but  whose  body  was  brought  to  Padua  and 
buried  in  the  chapel  which  he  had  erected. 

Turn  to  the  left  and  you  will  find  yourself  in  the  sacristy. 


174  PADUA 

and  there  you  will  see  a  statue  of  the  same  man  standing 
under  a  Gothic  niche  with  hands  clasped  and  eyes  raised, 
and  dressed,  not  as  a  prince,  but  in  the  ordinary  costume  of 
the  day.  The  inscription  reads  :  "  Propria  figura  Dominici 
Henrici  Scrovegni  militis  de  I'Arena." 


C.  AFTER  GIOTTO,  AND  THE  WORK  OF 
DONATELLO 

When  we  leave  this  little  chapel  two  minutes'  walk  will 
take  us  to  the  Church  of  the  Eremitani,  which  is  an  Augus- 
tinian  church  of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  its  great,  simple 
nave,  large  in  extent  for  preaching,  you  will  find  some 
interesting  tombs  that  are  worth  attention.  At  the  west  end 
on  the  left  is  that  of  Jacopo  Carrara,  fifth  Sovereign  Lord  of 
Padua,  and  on  the  right,  his  father,  Ubertino,  fourth  Lord. 

These  two  tombs  are  practically  all  that  is  left  of  one  of 
the  greatest  families  of  Padua,  which  provided  for  the  city 
nine  successive  supreme  rulers.  As  we  stand  before  their 
tombs,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  briefly  review  the  history 
of  the  city. 

I  have  already  told  you  of  the  story  of  its  origin,  which  we 
can  dismiss  as  a  myth,  but  we  may  start  our  survey  from,  say 
450.  At  that  time  it  was  ruled  by  the  Huns  under  the  famous 
Attila.  Then  it  fell  under  the  rule  of  the  Goths  Odoacer  and 
Theodoric,  but  was  captured  by  the  Greeks  in  540. 

A  little  later  on  the  Goths  took  the  place  under  Totila, 
but  a  second  time  it  went  back  to  the  Byzantine  Empire, 
being  captured  by  Narses  in  568.  Then  later  on  we  find 
it  a  Lombard  city,  rising  in  revolt  against  its  Lombard  king, 
Agilulph,  and  having  to  be  recaptured  by  him,  when  it  was 
severely  damaged  by  fire  and  siege.  After  the  Lombards 
came  the  Franks,  and  then  in  the  eleventh  century  we  find 
the  city  to  a  certain  extent  independent  and  ruling  itself  by 
a  general  council.  Out  of  that  grew  as  usual  the  competi- 
tion of  certain  families  for  supreme  control,  the  jealousy  of 


THE   ARTISTS  AFTER   GIOTTO  175 

other  families,  and  the  gradually  increasing  power  of  those 
who  were  able  to  accumulate  wealth  and  influence,  and  the 
internecine  warfare  that  always  grew  out  of  such  competi- 
tion. In  about  1175  we  find  that  one  of  these  families  had 
come  to  the  chief  position,  and  that  the  first  Podesta  of 
the  city  was  one  of  the  great  D'Este  family.  The  rule 
of  the  Podesta  was  but  for  a  short  time,  and  then  Padua 
was  united  to  the  Empire,  and  Ezzolino  da  Romano,  of 
whom  we  have  before  heard,  ruled  the  place  as  Vicar  for 
the  Emperor  and  practised  his  vilest  cruelties  in  it.  He 
died  in  1259  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  then  began  another  short  period  of  independence  and 
prosperity.  At  this  time  the  city  flourished  and  its  power 
in  arms  also  increased,  and  Vicenza  became  a  dependence 
of  Padua.  Then  its  wealth  and  position  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Can  Grande  I.,  ruler  of  Verona,  and  Padua  was 
captured  by  him  and  became  a  dependence  of  Verona. 

This  only  lasted  till  1318,  and  then  the  bravery  of  the 
Paduans,  who  were  led  by  the  patriotic  Jacopo  da  Carrara, 
freed  the  city  from  the  yoke  of  Verona.  Now  commenced 
the  Carrara  period,  as,  in  return  for  his  skill  and  prowess,  the 
citizens  of  Padua  elected  Jacopo  to  the  post  of  Lord  of  the 
city.  From  131 8  till  1405 — with  the  exception  of  two  inter- 
vening years,  1388  and  1389,  when  Gian  Galeazzo  Visconti 
held  the  place^the  Carrara  family  gave  Lords  to  Padua  ; 
but  they  have  not  left  the  signs  of  their  rule,  as  did  the 
family  of  the  Scaligeri  in  the  neighbouring  city  of  Verona. 
The  Carrara  were  a  warlike  race,  constantly  struggling  to 
increase  their  boundaries  and  to  capture  the  neighbouring 
cities,  and  there  was  great  jealousy  between  them  and  the 
rulers  of  Verona  and  Vicenza.  They  were  not  an  artistic 
family  and  they  did  not  greatly  beautify  Padua,  but  they 
did  give  considerable  assistance  to  learning,  and  the  Univer- 
sity flourished  during  their  reign.  There  was  also  constant 
conflict  between  Padua  and  her  great  and  powerful  neigh- 
bour, the  Republic  of  Venice.  Unceasing  warfare  went  on 
between  these  two  rivals,  Venice  coveting  the  rule  over 
prosperous    Padua,   and    the    Paduans    fighting   for    their 


176  PADUA 

freedom.  In  1405  the  great  Republic  was  the  conqueror, 
and  Francesco  Carrara  and  his  two  sons  were  taken  prisoners 
and  were  brought  to  Venice  during  the  Dogedom  of  Michele 
Steno.  In  1406,  to  the  great  disgrace  of  the  Republic,  the 
last  rulers  of  Padua,  independent  sovereigns  although  they 
were,  suffered  death  in  the  prisons  of  the  Council  of  Ten 
by  the  orders  of  the  dreaded  Council  of  Three,  and  then 
Padua  became  an  appanage  of  Venice  and  continued  in 
that  position  till  the  fall  of  the  Republic  in  1797.  It  was 
ruled  by  Venetian  nobles,  a  Podesta,  and  a  captain,  and 
possessed  a  modified  power  of  self-control  with  regard  to 
internal  affairs.  It  flourished  more  during  this  period  than 
it  had  done  under  the  Carrara  family,  as  Venetian  rule  was 
fair  although  hard,  and  the  Paduans  became  satisfied  and 
happy  under  the  fatherly  regulations  of  the  Republic. 

We  can  gain  an  idea  of  the  features  of  the  Carrara  rulers 
as  we  look  at  these  tombs,  as  the  faces  are  full  of  expres- 
sions of  pride,  and  the  monuments,  each  under  its  mag- 
nificent canopy,  are  impressive  memorials  of  a  great  and 
powerful  race. 


There  are  other  notable  monuments  in  this  church,  especi- 
ally a  fine  one  on  the  le/i  by  Ammonati,  erected  in  1583  by 
orders  of  a  professor  of  law,  Benavides,  who,  not  willing  to 
leave  to  his  successors  the  task  of  erecting  his  monument, 
had  it  put  up  during  his  lifetime.  In  the  sacristy  there  is 
also  an  important  monument  to  the  painter,  Paulus  de 
\^enetiis,  1429,  in  which  the  master  is  represented  lecturing 
to  his  pupils,  who  are  as  old  as  himself,  but  only  about  a 
fourth  of  his  size  !  The  chief  sight,  however,  in  this  church 
is  not  a  tomb,  but  is  to  be  seen  in  the  second  chapel  to 
the  right  of  the  choir.  Here  are  to  be  found  some  im- 
portant frescoes  by  Mantegna,  done  when  he  was  quite  a 
young  man. 

We  have  already  when  in  Milan  heard  of  the  founder  of 
the  Paduan  school,  Squarcione,  and  here  in  the  Pinacoteca 
we  shall  see  the  only  picture  which  is  quite  certainly  by  his 


THE   ARTISTS  AFTER   GIOTTO  177 

hand.  We  have  considered  his  influence  and  the  powerful 
classical  bend  of  his  mind,  and  have  seen  how  he  gathered 
around  him  a  school  of  younger  men  originating  the  Paduan 
school  of  artists. 

Here  is  the  work  of  his  chief  pupil,  done  doubtless 
during  his  pupilage,  but  revealing  how  great  a  genius  that 
pupil  was  to  become.  The  love  of  classical  art  which  was 
the  passion  of  the  master  had  descended  to  the  scholar,  but 
what  a  vast  improvement  is  here  to  be  seen  over  the  rough 
hard,  stiff,  angular  work  of  Squarcione.  The  statuesque  char- 
acter which  was  derived  from  the  study  of  the  antique  is 
also  fully  revealed,  and  the  love  of  fine  detail,  which  was  a 
part  of  the  art  of  Mantegna,  but  which  he  never  allowed 
to  overpower  the  bold  effect  of  his  conceptions.  Mark 
the  true  perspective,  the  power,  dignity,  and,  as  a  modern 
writer  has  well,  said,  "the  almost  monumental  grandeur  of 
the  single  figures,  and  of  the  whole  composition,"  and  see 
how  far  in  one  short  life  the  school  has  progressed  from 
the  very  elemental  work  that  characterised  Squarcione. 

In  considering"  the  Paduan  school  of  which  such  good 
examples  are  before  us,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact 
that  there  were  earlier  men  painting  in  Padua  than  the 
Squarcionesques.  When  in  a  few  minutes  we  reach  the 
great  Church  of  St.  Anthony,  we  can  see  the  best  work  of 
two  men  already  mentioned,  Altichieri  and  d'Avanzi. 
But  besides  these  two  there  were  others,  notably  Giusto  da 
Padua  and  Guariento,  who  worked  in  the  early  fourteenth 
century  ;  and  ere  we  leave  this  church,  in  order  to  have  an 
idea  as  to  the  beginning  of  Paduan  art,  we  will  step  into 
the  choir  and  shall  there  see  the  work  of  Guariento.  The 
frescoes  are  quaintly  symbolical  and  allegorical,  and  then 
above  these  curious  astrological  pictures  are  others  repre- 
senting scenes  from  the  life  of  St.  Augustine.  None  of  them 
are  really  beautiful,  but  they  are  rather  quaint  and  odd, 
possessing  their  chief  interest  from  the  fact  that  they 
represent  the  beginnings  of  Paduan  art  before  the  classical 
element  had  come  to  take  possession  of  it. 

M 


178  PADUA 

We  will  now  lea\e  this  church  and  go  off  to  the  middle 
of  the  city  to  see  the  Palazzo  della  Ragione,  which  I  men- 
tioned at  the  beginning  of  our  walk. 

This  building,  which  is  known  to  the  Paduans  as** II 
Salone,  stands  close  to  the  University,  and  between  the 
two  piazze  in  which  vegetables  and  fruit  are  sold.  It  was 
originally  erected  in  the  twelfth  century,  but  has  been  re- 
peatedly injured  by  fire.  It  forms  one  entire  side  of  the 
Piazza  dell'  Erbe,  stands  completely  upon  open  arches,  and 
has  a  loggia  around  it.  The  great  thing  to  see  is  the 
enormous  hall  upstairs,  and  to  reach  it  you  go  into  the 
Via  del  Municipio  and  find  an  iron  gate,  at  which  is  a  porter 
who  will  gladly  take  you  up  many  stairs  into  this  enormous 
hall,  which  is  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world  unsup- 
ported by  pillars  or  arches.  It  is  the  work  of  Fra  Giovanni, 
a  friar  who  had  been  in  India,  and  had  there  seen  the  roof 
of  a  huge  palace  which  pleased  him,  and  of  which  he  made 
a  careful  design.  The  Paduans,  desiring  to  erect  some 
great  work  that  should  surpass  anything  done  by  their 
neighbours,  commissioned  him  to  roof  their  hall,  which  up 
to  that  time  had  consisted  of  three  separate  rooms  with  one 
gigantic  roof,  and  the  friar  well  accomplished  his  task.  The 
room,  which  is  hardly  ever  entered  now  save  by  visitors, 
contains  the  famous  model  made  by  Donatello  for  his 
equestrian  statue  which  we  shall  see  close  to  II  Santo,  and 
the  presence  of  this  wooden  model  enables  us  to  form  a 
better  idea  of  the  size  and  proportions  of  the  place  than 
could  otherwise  have  been  possible.  The  walls  were 
originally  decorated  by  Giotto,  but  all  his  work  perished  in 
a  fire  which  took  place  in  1410,  and  the  present  frescoes 
date  from  immediately  after  that  fire,  when  the  walls  were 
restored  and  re-decorated  by  the  local  artists  of  the  time 
under  the  influence  of  the  work  of  Giotto. 

The  frescoes  are  very  curious  and  show  how  fond  the 
Paduans  have  always  been  of  astrology,  a  science  which  the 
influence  of  their  important  University  no  doubt  helped  to 
popularise.  Here  in  these  frescoes  the  astronomy  of  the 
day,  which  was  in  effect  astrology,  is  well  illustrated,  and  in 


THE   ARTISTS  AFTER   GIOTTO  179 

combination  with  the  stones  of  Holy  Writ  and  the  allegori- 
cal representations  of  the  Elements,  the  Virtues,  the  Vices, 
and  the  Temperaments,  are  depicted  all  round  the  room  in  a 
certain  strange  confusion,  the  problems  in  astronomy  that 
are  depicted  being  so  arranged  in  position  that  successive 
seasons  should  illuminate  them  through  the  windows  that 
are  in  the  walls.  At  the  entrance  are  two  Egyptian 
statues  that  Belzoni,  the  celebrated  discoverer,  presented  to 
his  native  town,  and  then  at  the  other  end  towering  up  to 
the  roof  is  the  gigantic  model  of  the  horse  that  Donatello 
prepared  for  his  equestrian  statue,  and  which  is  here  care- 
fully preserved.  In  some  ways  it  is  even  finer  than  the 
statue  of  Gatta  Melata  which  we  are  on  our  way  to  see, 
and  by  its  very  rugged  grandeur  and  its  strong  sense  of 
movement,  power,  and  strength  forms  a  most  impressive 
object.  We  can  inspect  it  at  close  quarters  in  this  hall,  and 
then  in  a  few  moments  we  shall  see  high  up  above  us  near 
the  church  the  statue  itself,  and  be  able  to  appreciate  it  from 
the  position  it  was  intended  to  occupy.  The  hall  is  altogether 
an  imposing  apartment,  and  is  of  such  antiquity  and  such 
proportions  that  it  is  well  worth  the  trouble  of  seeing. 

Now  we  will  move  towards  the  other  end  of  Padua  to  see 
the  remarkable  church  of  **I1  Santo,  as  strange  a  con- 
glomeration of  Oriental  and  Byzantine  and  pointed  archi- 
tecture as  Europe  can  produce. 

To  the  right  of  the  west  front  stands  the  **  bronze 
statue  of  Erasmo  da  Narni,  called  Gatta  Melata,  and  one 
of  the  two  supreme  equestrian  statues  of  the  world,  the 
other,  of  course,  being  the  Colleone  o»e  at  \'enice,  the  work 
of  \'errocchio.  It  is  exceedingly  fine,  incomparably  so, 
a  magnificent  work  ;  both  horse  and  horseman  are  admir- 
ably adapted  one  to  the  other.  It  is,  as  Hope  Rea  has 
said,  "a  magnificent  presentation  of  a  sagacious  warrior, 
cool,  determined,  commanding,  and  is  filled  with  that  subtle 
suggestion  of  individual  character  which  it  is  Uonatello's 
special  triumph  to  achieve." 

The  action  of  the  horse  is  that  of  ambling,  both  feet  on 


i8o  PADUA 

the  same  side  moving  together,  and  this  action,  as  the  same 
author  points  out,  it  has  in  common  with  the  bronze  horses 
of  St.  Mark's,  and  also  with  the  horses  on  the  frieze  of  the 
Parthenon.  This  was  the  ceremonial  pace,  specially  fitted 
for  serious  occasions. 

It  was  the  first  time  in  the  Renaissance  that  such  a 
statue  was  produced,  and  Donatello  had  nothing  but  the 
evidence  of  classic  work  and  his  own  supreme  powers  to 
enable  him  to  conquer  all  the  difficulties  that  beset  so  great 
a  problem.  He  began  it  in  1446  after  completing  the 
decorations  of  the  altar  of  the  church,  and  he  completed 
it  in  1453,  having  successfully  studied  the  anatomy  of  the 
horse,  conquered  the  difficulties  of  how  to  model  so  large 
and  so  imposing  an  object  which  was  to  be  seen  at  a  great 
height,  and  arranged  for  the  casting  of  a  huge  mass  of 
metal  greater  than  had  ever  been  used  before. 

Let  us  now  look  round  the  exterior  of  the  church.  Accord- 
ing to  tradition  it  was  the  work  of  Niccolo  da  Pisa,  who  in 
the  thirteenth  century  was  called  in  by  the  Paduans  to  erect 
as  fine  a  church  to  the  memory  of  their  great  saint  and  to 
enclose  his  remains  as  could  be  built,  but  it  is  more  than 
doubtful  whether  the  great  Pisan  architect  had  anything  to 
do  with  the  building.  As  already  stated,  it  is  a  strange  mix- 
ture of  styles,  but  has  been  built  by  some  one  who  had 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  St.  Mark's  and  who  desired 
to  give  to  his  creation  some  unusual  onfre  features  that 
should  recall  that  Cathedral  and  yet  give  this  church  char- 
acteristics of  its  own.  The  eight  cupolas  do  this  most  effec- 
tually, and  the  effect  of  the  mingling  of  styles  is  not  without 
its  charm.  Near  to  the  west  front  against  the  wall  stands 
the  tomb  of  Rolando  Piazzola,  a  strenuous  opponent  of  the 
Emperor  Henry  VII.,  when  he  strove  to  acquire  the  rights 
of  the  city  and  add  it  by  force  to  the  Holy  Roman  Empire. 
It  is  under  a  Gothic  canopy  of  delightful  simplicity. 

Now  let  us  enter  and  we  shall  find  ourselves  in  a  very 
imposing  edifice  full  of  altars,  and  always  crowded  with 
people,  who  throng  its  altars,  especially  the  one  dedicated 
to  II  Santo  where  his  body  rests. 


THE   ARTISTS  AFTER    GIOTTO  i8[ 

We  will  go  at  once  to  the  High  Altar,  passing  for  a  while 
St.  Anthony's  Chapel  in  order  that  with  the  recollec- 
tion of  Donatello's  monument  fresh  in  our  mind  we  may 
see  his  work  for  the  decoration  of  this  **High  Altar.  It 
was  reconstructed  in  1896  by  Signer  Camillo  Boito,  the 
then  architect  of  the  restoration,  as  a  previous  generation 
had  removed  it  from  its  original  position,  taken  it  to 
pieces,  and  placed  the  reliefs  that  were  made  for  it  in 
different  places.  They  are  now  all  brought  into  their  proper 
positions. 

The  angels  playing  on  musical  instruments  now  form  the 
front  of  the  altar  ;  above  these  are  two  reliefs  of  the  miracles 
of  the  saint,  two  symbols  of  the  Evangelists,  and  a  Pieta  ; 
and  then  again,  higher  up,  are  the  seven  life-sized  figures 
of  saints  and  in  the  midst  a  grand  rugged  crucifix.  At  the 
back  of  the  altar  are  the  two  other  reliefs  of  the  miracles, 
two  more  symbols  of  the  Evangelists,  and  in  the  centre  a 
large  Entombment  in  terra  cotta  which  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  all  the  bronze  and  with  the  fine  yellow  marble  in  which 
the  bronze  panels  are  set.  Perhaps  the  greatest  works  of 
all  are  the  reliefs  of  the  symbols  of  the  Evangelists,  which 
are  of  remarkable  beauty,  splendidly  drawn,  especially  the 
Ox  and  the  Lion,  full  of  decorative  value,  and  of  direct 
force  and  power.  The  children  who  are  in  the  twelve 
panels  along  the  front  of  the  altar  are  very  important,  and 
should  all  be  studied.  One  of  them  is  of  that  strange, 
half-childish,  and  half-mythical  being  that  is  special  to 
Donatello,  and  had  been  conceived  by  him  originally  for 
the  pulpit  Avhich  he  executed  at  Prato,  but  the  others  are 
simply  delightful  child  angels  playing  on  instruments,  and 
created  in  masterly  relief  with  great  expression  and  charm. 
Of  the  statues  the  St.  Francis  is  by  far  the  finest,  a  strong, 
vigorous,  rugged  figure,  thoughtful,  and  not  without  a 
tenderness  and  sympathy  of  expression  suitable  to  a  re- 
presentation of  so  loving  a  saint.  The  four  reliefs  depict 
celebrated  scenes  in  the  life  of  St.  Anthony  :  the  miracle 
of  finding  the  misei-'s  heart  in  his  money  chest ;  that  of  healing 
a  young  man  who,  in  remorse  for  having  struck  his  mother, 


i82  PADUA 

had  cut  off  his  own  foot ;  that  of  causing  a  newly  born  babe 
to  speak  and  so  establish  the  innocence  of  its  mother  ;  and 
finally,  that  of  an  ass  who,  though  starving,  recognised  the 
sanctity  of  the  Host  and  refused  to  eat  it,  and  in  this  way 
convinced  an  unbeliever.  In  all  of  them  there  are  powerful 
architectural  backgrounds  composed  of  rigid  lines  and  well- 
filled  spaces  from  which  the  characters  of  the  stories  which 
are  presented  stand  out  with  expression  that  is  quite  re- 
markable in  such  minute  work,  crowded  with  details  of  great 
beauty,  but  which  are  never  allowed  to  confuse  the  main 
issue  or  to  injure  the  decorative  value  of  the  panel.  Re- 
straint and  reticence  mark  all  the  work,  and  a  fine  sense 
of  decoration,  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  what  the  material 
in  which  he  worked  was  capable  and  of  wherein  it  would 
fail.  In  the  centre  is  the  superbly  modelled  crucifix,  and 
behind  it  the  strong,  bold  work  in  terra  cotta  which  is  so 
pleasing  as  a  foil  to  the  bronze. 

Now  let  me  take  you  into  the  chapel  which  is  opposite 
to  that  of  St.  Anthony,  and  which  is  decorated  with  fresco 
work  by  Altichieri  and  d'Avanzi.  It  is  called  **the  Capella 
San  Felice,  and  having  been  originally  dedicated  to  St. 
James,  has  his  story  in  fresco  by  these  interesting  early 
Paduan  artists  on  its  walls.  There  are  two  tombs  in  this 
chapel,  one  to  the  wife  of  the  second  Lord  of  Padua,  Marsilio 
Carrara,  and  the  other  to  the  founder  of  the  chapel  ;  but  all 
the  remaining  space  is  covered  with  the  decoration  forming 
what  Crowe  called  "  the  noblest  monument  of  the  pictorial 
art  of  the  fourteenth  century."  It  will  be  well  for  you  to 
go  round  all  the  pictures  in  this  series,  some  of  which  are 
taken  from  the  legendary  life  and  some  from  the  Scriptural 
story  relating  to  St.  James,  and  mark  how  these  followers  of 
Giotto  have  developed  the  dramatic  po\\'er,  how  well  the 
story  is  told  and  with  what  simple  foixe  and  directness,  and 
also  how  much  deeper  and  richer  are  the  colours  used,  and 
what  a  fine  decorative  effect  is  obtained.  Both  artists  appear 
to  have  worked  together  on  this  chapel,  but  the  work  of 
d'Avanzi  can  be  distinguished  from  that  of  his  friend  by  its 
greater  minutepess  of  detail,  and  by  the  striking  way  in 


THE   ARTISTS   AFTER   GIOTTO  183 

which  he  distinguishes  faces  one  from  the  other,  giving  to 
each  a  character  of  its  own.  Akichieri  is  considered  to  be 
the  greater  artist  of  the  two,  and  to  be  the  better  and  more 
skilful  draughtsman,  but  his  companion  evidently  had  not 
only  the  greater  insight  into  character,  but  the  greater 
power  to  represent  such  character  in  his  work.  They  are, 
of  course,  followers  of  Giotto  in  the  way  in  which,  with 
an  absence  of  accessories  and  with  a  plain  simple  truth, 
they  narrate  their  story ;  always  keeping  in  view  the 
final  result  as  a  piece  of  decoration  as  well  as  a  pictured 
narrative.  They  are  strikingly  original  in  their  ideas,  and 
you  will  mark,  having  so  recently  come  from  the  Arena 
Chapel,  what  progress  these  frescoes  show  in  knowledge  of 
atmosphere,  movement,  proportion,  and  height  of  figure, 
and  in  composition  and  grouping. 

It  would,  I  think,  be  well  for  you  as  soon  as  you  have  gone 
round  these  frescoes  to  leave  the  church  (returning  in  a  few 
minutes),  stepping  outside  the  main  door,  pass  around  one 
side  of  the  square  on  the  left  to  a  door  leading  you  into 
the  Capella  San  Giorgio,  the  key  of  which  the  custode  of 
II  Santo  will  produce,  and  following  him  in,  look  at  the 
work  of  these  same  two  artists  which  covers  the  walls  of  this 
chapel.  Here  you  will  find  the  story  of  St.  George,  together 
with  scenes  from  the  lives  of  St.  Catherine  and  St.  Lucy, 
and  some  New  Testament  subjects.  Behind  the  altar  is 
the  Crucifixion^  and  above  it  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin, 
and  close  to  them,  on  the  left  wall,  a  fine  picture  in  which 
are  members  of  the  family  of  the  founder  of  the  chapel 
kneeling  before  the  Madonna.  These  frescoes  were  done 
some  five  years  later  than  those  at  which  we  have  just 
been  looking,  and  mark  still  further  progress.  The  Cruci- 
fixion is  far  finer  than  the  one  in  the  Capella  San  Felice, 
as  there  is  more  expression  in  the  faces,  a  clear  desire  to 
give  a  supernatural  aspect  to  the  scene,  and  a  greater  realisa- 
tion of  the  ability  to  group  the  figures  in  a  natural  manner, 
that  each  should  take  its  part  clearly  in  the  central  event 
of  the  picture.  There  is  not  the  poetry  that  Giotto  possessed 
in  so  supreme  a  degree,  but  there  is  more  dramatic  force. 


i84  PADUA 

There  is  not  the  intense  feehng  of  devotion,  the  deep  rehgious 
spirit,  the  nervous  trembhng  of  excitement  born  of  profound 
belief  which  is  characteristic  of  Giotto,  but  there  is  a  reach- 
ing out  to  greater  pictorial  effect,  a  desire  to  render  the  scene 
as  it  actually  was,  and  to  paint  each  spectator  as  he  actu- 
ally looked,  and  there  is  power  and  skill  in  modelling,  in 
painting  draperies,  and  in  arranging  shadows  that  is  very 
noticeable.  Many  of  the  frescoes  are  in  bad  condition, 
others  are  in  good  preservation,  but  all  are  worth  attention, 
and  mark  another  milestone  in  the  progress  of  Paduan  art, 
which  we  shall  see  passed  again  as  we  go  into  the  picture 
gallery  in  the  town. 

Let  us  now  return  into  the  church,  and  turn  to  the 
Capella  del  Santo.  It  is  a  sixteenth-century  chapel,  partly 
the  work  of  Sansovino,  and  is  very  richly  decorated,  but 
nothing  that  it  contains  is  of  a  specially  high  merit  in  the 
kingdom  of  art,  and  therefore  it  was  that  I  wanted  you 
first  to  see  the  other  chapels.  You  will  always  find  this 
chapel  full  of  worshippers,  as  the  Paduans  are  a  very  re- 
ligious people  and  devoted  to  the  cult  of  their  saint,  whose 
remains  lie  in  the  altar  by  the  side  of  which  stand  two  fine 
silver  candelabra,  good  fifteenth-century  work  by  the  hands 
of  a  local  artist,  Parodi. 

There  is  a  fine  tomb  against  the  second  column  to  the 
right  in  the  nave,  and  in  the  third  chapel  on  the  same  side 
there  is  a  tabernacle,  covered  with  reliefs  by  Donatello, 
which  is  often  overlooked,  and  in  which  also  the  fine  gates 
and  two  grand  red  marble  tombs  should  be  noted. 

In  the  sacristy  there  is  some  beautiful  intarsia  work 
which  is  well  worth  seeing,  and  if  you  can  get  the 
cupboards  opened  some  splendid  vestments  and  some  fine 
examples  of  the  goldsmith's  art  are  to  be  seen,  and  then  in 
the  cloisters  close  by  there  are  more  fine  tombs.  From  the 
cloistei'S  you  gain  a  charming  view  of  the  church,  and  can 
form  your  opinion  whether  you  agree  with  a  numerous  body 
of  writers  who  speak  of  it  as  ugly  and  bizarre,  or  whether 
you  agree  with  many  other  writers,  with  whom  I  must 
confess    to   have   more    sympathy,    who   regard   it    as   an 


OTHER   SIGHTS  AND   PICTURE   GALLERY     185 

interesting  and  original  work  which  is  impressive,  strange, 
and  quaint  and  attractive  from  its  very  originality  and  from 
the  contrast  it  affords  to  the  usual  type  of  buildings,  and  a 
high  tribute  to  the  genius  of  its  architect. 


JJ.  OTHER  SIGHTS  AND  THE  PICTURE 
GALLERY 

There  are  not  many  other  churches  to  be  seen  in 
Padua.  The  Cathedral  has  no  special  features,  and 
the  tombs  and  pictures  that  it  contains  are  not  of  much 
importance.  The  Baptistery  is  a  more  interesting  building 
as  it  is  thirteenth-century  Lombard  work,  and  recalls  a 
similar  one  at  Parma,  which,  however,  is  finer,  and  has 
the  advantage  of  being  better  placed.  This  Baptistery 
loses  dignity  from  being  so  close  to  the  Duomo.  Its  in- 
terior is  impressive,  as  it  is  entirely  covered  with  frescoes, 
which  are  the  work  of  two  other  early  Paduan  artists, 
Giovanni  and  Antonio  da  Padua,  of  whom  little  is  known, 
and  whose  chief  works  are  these  frescoes.  Their  date  is 
about  1370,  and  they  were  painted  at  the  cost  of  Fina  Buzza- 
carina,  wife  of  the  ruler  of  the  city,  Francesco  Carrara,  and  re- 
present stories  from  the  Old  and  New  Testament  depicted  in 
a  very  quaint,  naive  manner,  very  dark  and  rich  in  effect. 

The  only  other  really  important  church  to  be  seen  is  that 
of  Santa  Giustina  at  the  extreme  south  of  the  city,  not  a 
great  way  from  II  Santo,  and  situate  close  to  the  delight- 
ful Piazza  Vittorio  Emanuele.  This  large  open  space, 
which  must  be  passed  to  reach  the  church,  has  a  lake  in 
the  middle  surrounded  by  trees  and  crossed  by  a  bridge, 
and  around  it  are  a  number  of  statues  of  those  important 
persons  who  can  be  said  to  have  any  connection  with 
Padua,  or  were  educated  at  its  University.  The  Church  of 
Santa  Giustina  is  built  above  some  catacombs  in  which 
are  the  remains  of  early  Christian  martyrs,  SS.  Giustina, 
Prosdocimo,  and  Daniel,  and  there  are  some  curious  altar 
fronts  and  other  pieces  of  carving  to  be  seen  in  them. 


1 86  PADUA 

The  choir  contains  some  excellent  wood-work  which  forms 
the  stalls,  and  in  the  inner  choir,  which  belongs  to  a  far 
older  building,  are  other  carved  wood  stalls  decorated  with 
unusual  and  remarkable  intarsia  work. 

When  you  leave  this  church  I  want  you  to  follow  the 
method  that  we  adopted  at  Verona  and  see  a  garden, 
but  this  time  not  for  a  magnificent  view  but  for  a  dif- 
ferent reason.  In  Padua  is  the  most  ancient  ^Botanical 
Garden  in  Europe,  one  which  was  arranged  in  1543  and 
which  has  belonged  to  the  great  University  of  Padua  ever 
since,  and  has  had  connected  with  it  some  of  the  most 
eminent  botanists  in  the  world.  It  was  founded  by  the 
Republic  of  Venice,  and  from  it  sprang  all  the  other  botani- 
cal gardens  which  have  been  so  important  in  acclimatis- 
ing exotic  trees  in  Europe  and  in  helping  on  the  study  of 
botany.  It  is  close  to  the  church  and  known  as  the  Orto 
Botanico,  and  well  worth  A-isiting.  There  are  many  plants 
in  it  that  will  interest  you  only  if  you  happen  to  be  a 
botanist,  but  the  garden  is  so  lovely  and  the  majority  of  the 
trees  and  shrubs  are  in  such  fine  condition  and  so  well  grown 
that  I  am  sure  you  would  enjoy  a  stroll  through  its  walks. 

The  grandest  tree  is  a  magnificent  palm,  which  is  enclosed 
in  a  house  by  itself,  but  there  are  many  other  fine  exotic 
trees  with  which  we  are  now  familiar,  but  which  were  intro- 
duced into  Europe  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  first 
planted  here,  and  thence  have  spread  in  all  directions.  The 
groups  of  medicinal  plants  are  also  worth  attention,  and 
in  the  long  building  near  the  garden  is  a  very  complete 
Botanical  Museum  and  Herbarium.  Admission  is  free,  but 
it  is  well  to  give  one  of  the  gardeners  a  gratuity  when  you 
leave  the  place.  To  obtain  admission,  you  will  have  to  pull 
the  bell  at  the  gate,  and  to  go  out  you  will  need  to  do  the 
same,  as  the  gates  are  locked  behind  you  when  you  ha\e 
entered,  to  prevent — so  the  custodian  informed  me— the 
entrance  of  tramps  or  dogs.  You  will  probably  only  find 
half-a-dozen  students  in  the  place,  and  have  it  pretty  much 
to  yourself. 

The  University,  which  the  Paduans  always  speak  of  as 


OTHER   SIGHTS  AND   PICTURE   GALLERY     187 

II  Bo  from  the  sign  of  the  ancient  tavern,  the  Ox,  on  which 
the  original  buildings  were  erected,  does  not  contain  much 
that  will  interest  you.  In  the  entrance  court  you  will  notice, 
as  you  will  see  with  better  effect  in  Bologna,  the  arms  of  the 
various  students,  dating  away  back  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  in  the  museums,  if  you  are  disposed  to  pay  them  a  visit, 
you  will  find  all  the  ordinary  collections  that  such  museums 
possess,  and  notably  a  fine  collection  of  local  fossils,  and  a 
superb  series  of  Roman  coins,  but  I  think  that  the  picture 
gallery  will  be  found  of  greater  importance  than  the  museums, 
especially  as  when  we  arrive  in  Bologna  I  want  you  to  spend 
more  time  than  we  have  hitherto  given  to  museums  in  the 
very  fine  one  in  that  city. 

To  the  Pinacoteca  let  us  therefore  go.  It  is  close  to  II 
Santo,  and  not  five  minutes'  walk  from  the  Botanical  Garden. 

There  is  not  any  catalogue  to  be  obtained,  but  one  is  in 
preparation,  and,  as  usual  in  Italian  galleries,  the  pictures 
are  "  in  course  of  arrangement."  You  will  get  accustomed 
to  this  expression  as  you  go  through  Italian  galleries,  as 
just  at  this  time  there  is  a  mania  for  rearranging  galleries  and 
preparing  new  catalogues,  and  if  only  the  work  was  to  be 
done  by  those  persons  who  really  understand  pictures,  or  with 
the  advice  of  such  experts  as  Dr.  Frizzoni,  Mr.  Berenson, 
Dr.  Ricci,  Mr.  Cook,  or  Professor  Venturi,  the  result 
would  be  delightful,  but  in  many  cases  the  work  is  left 
to  the  custodian  of  the  gallery,  who  often  has  not  had 
either  the  requisite  experience  or  the  needful  knowledge  to 
be  able  to  name  and  arrange  his  gallery  in  an  accurate 
manner. 

Room  I.  There  are  five  pictures  in  this  room  that  merit 
attention.  50  and  56,  which  are  on  either  side  of  the  door, 
and  which  were  originally  numbered  416  and  417,  are  the 
fronts  of  two  cassone  or  marriage  chests,  the  other  portions 
of  which,  having  no  decoration  upon  them,  I  found  in  an 
adjoining  store-room  in  pieces.  They  are  attributed  to 
Giorgione,  and  I  think  with  good  reason,  and  represent 
scenes  connected  with  the  legends  of  Adonis.' 

1  Giorgione,  by  H,  Cook  (Bell  &  Sons,  1900),  p.  56. 


i88  PADUA 

They  are  delightfully  painted,  are  splendid  in  colour,  and 
full  of  sunny  effect  very  characteristic  of  the  great  master, 
while  to  those  who  know  his  pictures,  the  trees,  the  distant 
hills,  the  grouping  of  the  figures,  and  their  very  forms  will 
be  eloquent  of  that  versatile  genius.  There  are  two  other 
panels  by  Giorgione  in  this  same  gallery  also  representing 
mythological  scenes,  one  of  them  being  Leda  and  the  Swan, 
but  although  they  are  numbered  42  and  43,  I  cannot  tell 
you  in  which  room  to  find  them,  as  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
they  were  on  the  floor  with  their  faces  turned  to  the  wall  and 
the  attendant  seemed  to  have  no  idea  as  to  where  they  were 
to  be  hung.  In  many  ways  they  recall  the  cassone  panels, 
as  the  landscape  in  them  is  most  beautifully  painted, 
although  on  a  very  minute  scale,  but  they  are  gems  of  loveli- 
ness and  the  figures  of  the  man  and  woman  in  the  second 
one  are  charmingly  idyllic  and  naive  in  their  sentiment,  very 
characteristic  of  the  lyrical  manner  of  Giorgione.^ 

33  is  a  good  picture  by  Marco  Basaiti,  a  most  interesting 
Venetian  master,  of  whom  very  little  is  known  save  that  he 
was  a  follower  of  Vivarini.  It  represents  the  Madonna  and 
Child  with  St.  Peter  and  St.  Liberale  and  three  angels,  and 
is  signed  MARCIVS  BAXAITI.  The  saint  has  been  called 
St.  George  and  also  St.  Paul,  but  I  think  there  is  little  doubt 
that  it  represents  Giorgione's  favourite  saint  St.  Liberale. 

The  Palma  Vecchio,  of  a  Madonna  and  Child  with  two 
donors,  although  provided  with  a  signature,  must  not  be 
accepted  as  a  genuine  work  by  that  master.  It  is  a  counter- 
part, as  Morelli  first  pointed  out,  of  a  picture  at  Berlin, 
equally  untrustworthy,  and  is  only  a  school  work,  and  is,  I 
believe,  so  being  labelled  at  the  present  time. 

49  is  a  delightful  picture  of  a  Virgin  and  Child  with  St. 
John  the  Baptist  and  a  donor,  evidently  a  work  of  the 
school  of  Lotto,  but  not  by  Lotto  himself.  It  was  at  one 
time  numbered  116.  There  are  also  some  works  of  early 
Venetian  art  of  the  Vivarini  School  in  this  room  that  are 
worth  attention. 

In  Room  II.  are  two  works  by  Bonifacio  Veronese,  a 
1  See  Cook,  p.  90. 


OTHER   SIGHTS  AND   PICTURE   GALLERY     189 

Nativity,  166,  and  a  Madonna  and  Child  with  SS.  John  the 
Baptist,  Sebastian,  Jerome,  and  Francis,  decorative  pictures 
with  rich  voluptuous  colouring. 

In  Room  III.  there  is  nothing  worth  attention. 

Room  IV.  contains  the  most  interesting  picture  in  the 
collection,  399,  the  altar-piece  in  five  divisions  with  SS.  Lucia, 
John  the  Baptist,  Jerome,  Anthony,  and  Giustina,  each  in 
their  own  niche,  and  with  a  rough  landscape  behind,  which 
is  the  work  of  Squarcione.  It  has  been  much  injured,  and 
has  also  been  in  places  repainted,  but  it  is  of  extraordinary 
interest  as  marking  the  very  beginning  of  the  true  Paduan 
school,  hard,  classical,  rude,  but  possessed  of  much  dignity 
and  reserve,  and  delightful  in  its  statuesque  pose  and  in  its 
charm  of  colour. 

Near  to  it  is  381  (once  called  781),  a  school  picture  of  just 
the  same  period,  in  which  it  is  probable  the  master  had  a 
hand  also.  It  is  more  stiff  and  formal,  and  is  an  Adoration 
with  St.  John  the  Baptist  and  St.  Jerome.  Possibly  both 
works  were  done  for  an  altar  dedicated  to  St.  Jerome  as  he 
appears  so  prominently  in  each. 

Another  early  Paduan  work  is  385  (or  12 16)  in  which  again 
St.  Jerome  is  an  important  figure. 

397  is  a  fine  work  by  one  of  the  Vivarini,  and  around  it 
are  two  panels  belonging  to  it.  The  St.  Peter  is  a  grand 
figure  with  a  fine  head,  and  the  draperies,  tiara,  and  keys 
are  superbly  painted.  It  is  a  charming  piece  of  work  of 
the  rigid,  hard  Crivellian  school. 

In  Room  V.  neither  of  the  Bellinis  must  be  accepted  as 
works  by  the  masters  whose  names  are  attached  to  them, 
although  both  are  Venetian  pictures  of  good  merit.  415 
(1273)  bears  the  name  of  Jacopo  and  425  (658)  the  name 
of  Gentile.     The  former  is  clearly  by  Rondinelli. 

439  is  a  fine  head  by  Antonello  da  Messina,  and  there 
are  two  terribly  sickly  works  in  this  room  by  Sassoferrato, 
over  which  the  custodian  goes  into  raptures,  and  which  are 
sentimental  to  the  last  degree. 

In  Room  VI.  there  is  a  very  attractive  Portrait,  454  (659), 
of  a  Youth,  which  has  been  for  years  attributed  to  Giorgione, 


igo  PADUA 

and  has  a  signature  to  that  effect  upon  it  which  may  or  may 
not  be  false.  It  is  now  generally  given  to  Torbido,  and  so 
close  is  the  resemblance  of  the  face  to  that  of  the  Shepherd 
Boy  at  Hampton  Court  which  has  been  called  the  work  of 
Giorgione,  that  Mr.  Cook,  in  refusing  to  accept  the  latter 
as  by  Giorgione,  draws  special  attention  to  the  resemblance, 
and  is  disposed  to  attribute  each  work  to  the  hand  of 
Torbido.  I  must  confess  that  it  goes  hard  with  me  to 
resign  the  Shepherd  Boy  as  a  genuine  work  by  Gior- 
gione, and  my  own  feeling  is  rather  that  in  this  head 
of  a  youth  we  ha\e  the  fifth  work  by  Giorgione  that  the 
Paduan  gallery  possesses,  rather  than  a  work  by  Torbido. 
It  came  originally  from  the  Church  of  Santa  Giustina,  and 
while  there  was  always  known  as  a  picture  by  Giorgione. 
It  was  given  to  the  church  by  a  Venetian  lady  under 
his  name,  so  I  was  told  at  the  church,  and  perhaps  some 
day  a  search  amongst  the  papers  of  the  church  will  reveal 
some  further  information  as  to  this  very  interesting  portrait, 
and  by  such  means  the  question,  not  only  of  its  identity, 
but  also  of  that  of  the  Hampton  Court  picture  which  it 
so  closely  resembles,  may  be  set  at  rest. 

I  am  disposed  to  think  that  this  very  youth  can  be  re- 
cognised as  seated  under  a  tree,  in  the  cassone  front  by 
Giorgione  (56)  which  we  saw  in  Room  I, 

There  is  an  interesting  Garofalo  (710)  in  this  room,  very 
Ferrarese  in  its  trees  and  buildings,  somewhat  cold  in  its 
colour  for  this  master,  and  having  in  one  corner  a  mysterious 
scene  which  appears  to  resemble  a  man  struck  by  lightning, 
and  which  should  be  the  means  of  revealing  the  history  of 
the  picture,  which  was  very  likely  a  votive  altar-piece. 

You  should  also  see  in  this  room  two  fine  old  frames, 
one  of  which  encloses  the  Boccacino,  which  is  itself  rather 
a  good  picture. 

We  now  enter  the  big  room  at  the  end  of  the  gallery. 

Right  at  the  end  of  it  is  a  glorious  Romanino,  a  superb 
picture.  The  Virgin  is  being  crowned  by  three  angels  above, 
while  below  are  grouped  55.  Benedict  and  Giustina  on  the 
right,    SS.    Prosdocimo   and    Scholastica  on   the   left,   and 


OTHER   SIGHTS  AND   PICTURE    GALLERY     191 

below  the  throne  seated  on  the  step  is  a  lovely  child  angel 
playing  on  a  tambourine.  A  Pietk  and  four  saints  are  above 
the  altar-piece  in  a  lunette,  and  the  predella  contains  a 
charming  tondo  of  the  Holy  Innocents  and  two  saints. 
It  is  fully  signed  and  dated,  and  was  originally  in  the 
Church  of  Sta.  Giustina,  and  is  perhaps  the  very  finest 
picture  that  Romanino  ever  painted,  full  of  rich  vibrating 
colour  and  superbly  arranged. 

765,  near  to  it,  is  also  by  Romanino,  and  came  from  the 
same  church.  It  represents,  the  Madonna  and  Child  with 
St.  Benedict  and  St.  Giustina  and  a  lovely  angel,  and  is 
also  very  rich  and  deep  in  colour. 

A  rather  interesting  picture  in  this  gallery  is  a  copy,  by 
Longhi,  of  the  Francia  at  Ravenna,  which  he  has  signed  and 
passed  off  as  his  own  !  ! 

Finally,  the  fresco  by  Girolamo  da  Santa  Croce  is  worth 
attention,  and  is  another  picture  from  Sta.  Giustina,  in  which 
the  saint  is  seen  with  St.  Benedict.  The  master  is  better 
known  for  his  copies  of  the  work  of  Cima  than  for  his  own, 
which  are  not  of  striking  importance,  but  of  which  this  is 
one  of  the  best  that  I  know. 


BOLOGNA 


A.  INTRODUCTORY 

BOLOGNA  was  originally  an  Etruscan  city,  and  evi- 
dence of  its  importance  in  Etruscan  times  can  still 
be  seen  in  the  place.  In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  an 
independent  city,  governing  itself  and  giving  much  attention 
to  the  erection  of  important  buildings,  and  strengthening 
its  position.  It  was  a  powerful  city  as  it  increased  in 
prosperity,  and  was  a  serious  enemy  in  the  field.  As  we 
shall  see  later  on,  it  had  some  great  successes  in  warfare. 
In  the  fourteenth  century  it  was  attached  to  the  Holy  See, 
and  from  that  time  was  ruled  nominally  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Pope.  The  Bentivoglio  family,  however,  ob- 
tained such  large  wealth  and  power  as  practically  to  make 
them  into  independent  princes,  and  under  the  rule  of 
Giovanni  Bentivoglio,  who  reigned  for  some  forty  years, 
the  city  flourished  and  became  an  important  place  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  liberal  arts.  The  desire  of  Giovanni 
Bentivoglio  was  to  adorn  and  beautify  his  city,  and  to 
attract  to  it  the  greatest  craftsmen  of  the  times  ;  but  he  was 
a  despotic  ruler,  and  raised  a  great  deal  of  bitter  feeling 
against  him  in  the  place.  His  tyranny  and  independence 
became  at  last  so  serious  that  Pope  Juhus  II.  came  against 
the  city,  drove  him  out,  reinstated  the  Papal  power,  and 
ruled  the  place  by  legates  who  were  more  directly  respon- 
sible to  the  Holy  See.  Bentivoglio  fled  to  Milan,  and  to 
prevent  his  return  the  exasperated  people  destroyed  his 
palace,  and  many  buildings  that  were  important  in  the  city. 
From  the  time  of  Julius  II.  the  place  remained  attached 
to  the  Patrimony  of  Peter  and  was  ruled  from  Rome  until 

the  events  of  recent  times. 

192 


ETRUSCAN  AND   ROMAN   TIMES  193 


B.  ETRUSCAN  AND  ROMAN  TIMES 

In  considering  the  history  of  Bologna  we  have  to  deal 
with  a  state  of  civilisation  far  earlier  than  that  of  the 
Romans,  and  the  oldest  that  has  yet  come  under  our  atten- 
tion. The  history  of  the  Etruscan  nation  is  still  very 
largely  a  matter  of  mystery.  We  do  not  know  for  certain 
whence  came  the  people  who  spread  over  Italy,  and  whose 
twelve  cities  acquired  so  great  a  renown. 

We  cannot  yet  read  with  an  absolute  knowledge  or  accu- 
racy the  inscriptions  that  the  Etruscans  have  left  behind 
them  in  such  vast  numbers,  nor  can  we  always  interpret  to 
our  complete  satisfaction  the  legends  on  the  tombstones  that 
are  found  or  the  writing  within  the  tombs.  Many  mysteries 
still  surround  this  most  interesting  people,  chief  amongst 
them  being  the  difficulty  of  their  language ;  as  we  have 
yet  to  discover  such  a  memorial  as  the  Rosetta  stone,  which 
proved  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  the  long 
sought  for  key  to  the  mystery. 

Some  day,  perhaps,  we  may  find  some  similar  treasure, 
written  in  the  quaint  Runic  characters  of  Etruria,  which  will 
once  for  all  settle  the  disputes  over  the  meaning  of  those 
inscriptions  that  now  afford  so  much  scope  for  discussion. 

We  have  plenty  of  evidence  as  to  the  life  and  habits  of 
the  Etruscans,  thanks  to  the  discoveries  that  have  been 
made,  and  especially  to  the  treasures  that  have  been  found 
in  their  great  cemeteries  and  in  their  graves.  The  museums 
of  Perugia,  Chiusi,  and  Bologna  enable  the  student  to  realise 
how  rich  a  nation  Etruria  must  have  been,  and  in  what  a 
high  state  of  civilisation  and  luxury  her  people  lived.  Their 
artistic  knowledge  must  have  been  very  considerable. 
Their  jewellery,  bronzes,  and  vases  show  great  beauty  both 
of  design  and  workmanship,  and  the  ornaments  in  vast 
numbers  that  are  found  testify  to  the  love  of  decoration 
that  characterised  this  interesting  people.  There  is  noth- 
ing barbaric  about  their  work.  It  shows  a  pure  love 
of  design,  a  refinement  that   is  Greek  in  its  nature,  and 

N 


194  BOLOGNA 

a  delicacy  of  workmanship  that  is  surprising.  Especially 
careful  they  seem  to  have  been  with  their  dead,  and  very 
particular  as  to  preparing  fine  tombs  for  them,  decorating 
the  interiors  with  important  sculpture  and  fresco  decoration 
of  a  rude  sort,  and  then  burying  with  the  dead,  money, 
ornaments,  jewels,  and  vessels  of  various  kinds  for  their 
use  in  some  unknown  region,  which  now  enable  us  to 
understand  somewhat  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
nation. 

.  In  the  **Museo  Civico,  to  which  it  is  well  that  we  should 
make  our  first  visit  in  Bologna,  we  shall  find  in  the  ^enf/i 
room  a  magnificent  collection  of  Etruscan  remains.  The 
room  is  a  very  long  one,  finely  arranged  and  well  lighted, 
and  is  filled  with  what  has  been  discovered  near  to  Bologna. 
Here  we  can  see  the  graves  as  they  were  opened,  and  the 
arrangement  of  them  can  be  studied,  whilst  in  cases 
around  are  the  treasures  that  have  been  taken  from  this 
gigantic  cemetery.  There  are  vases  of  considerable  beauty, 
bronze  ornaments,  notably  mirrors,  of  the  most  exquisite 
design,  sometimes  covered  with  dainty  engraving  and  at 
other  times  inlaid  with  metals,  such  as  silver.  There  are 
brooches,  fibulas,  rings  for  the  finger  and  ears,  in  gold, 
silver,  and  bronze  ;  there  are  ornaments  of  all  varieties  in 
glass,  often  very  lovely  in  colour,  and  varied  in  efifect  by 
mottling,  cloudiness,  clearness,  or  device.  Necklaces  are  to 
be  seen  in  plenty,  and  important  collars  in  silver  and  gold. 
There  are  bronze  vessels  of  all  kinds,  both  for  domestic  and 
for  sacrificial  use,  and  some  of  the  bronze  jars  are  covered 
with  delightful  chased  work,  depicting  scenes  from  the 
history  of  the  people.  Tombstones  stand  all  around  the  room, 
many  of  them  covered  with  strange  inscriptions  which  have 
only  been  partially  deciphered  ;  and  altogether  there  is  such 
an  effect  of  wealth  and  prosperity  as  enables  us  to  better 
appreciate  the  genius  of  the  Etruscans,  and  to  realise  how 
great  a  nation  possessed  the  soil  upon  which  we  now  stand 
away  back  in  the  mysterious  days  preceding  the  foundation 
of  Rome. 
The  old  names  for  Bologna,  Felsina.  which  is  still  used 


ETRUSCAN  AND  ROMAN   TIMES  195 

on  books,  and  for  scents  and  soaps  used  in  the  city,  and 
Bononia,  which  survives  in  legal  documents,  and  was  used 
by  the  artists  of  the  Renaissance,  were  said  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  Etruscan  rulers  who  founded  the  place  and 
gave  to  it  their  names.  Another  interpretation  of  the  word 
Bononia  derives  it  from  a  certain  ruler  in  Roman  times  ;  but 
in  any  case  it  has  a  considerable  antiquity. 


Of  actual  Roman  remains  in  the  city  there  is  not  very 
much,  but  in  this  same  museum  can  be  seen  plenty  of 
evidence  as  to  the  Roman  occupation  of  the  place.  In  the 
entrance  hall  may  be  found  some  Roman  tombs  and  statues, 
also  a  collection  of  pieces  of  terra-cotta,  with  remains  of 
mosaic  decorations  and  portions  of  columns  of  various  build- 
ings. There  is  a  series  of  fine  milestones  from  the  great  roads 
that  lay  through  Bologna,  and  other  stones  on  which  are 
to  be  found  records  as  to  the  movements  of  certain  legions 
and  as  to  the  places  where  they  were  stationed  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Upstairs,  in  Room  IX.,  can  be  seen  some 
objects  in  glass  and  bronze,  with  candelabra,  statuettes,  and 
ornaments  that  were  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city, 
together  with  a  great  variety  of  other  Roman  objects  that 
have  no  immediate  connection  with  Bologna. 

In  the  city  there  are  only  two  important  things  which  relate 
to  Roman  Bologna.  One  is  the  great  Piazza,  around  which 
ai-e  grouped  the  chief  buildings,  and  which  occupies  the 
site  of  the  Roman  forum,  and  has  been  constantly  called  in 
medijeval  times  "  The  Forum,"  although,  save  that  it  is  an 
open  space  and  has  always  been  so,  it  retains  little  trace  of 
its  original  occupation.  The  other  remains  are  to  be  found 
built  in  various  places  in  the  ancient  Church  of  San  Stefano, 
which  is  the  oldest  church  in  the  city,  and  which  was  built, 
so  historians  say,  upon  the  site  of  a  Roman  temple,  and  has 
incorporated  into  its  structure  various  pieces  of  undoubted 
Roman  work. 

We  know  that  the  terms  of  the  second  triumvirate,  43  B.C., 
were  settled  in  Bologna,  that  Antony  and  Octavius  Lepidus 


196  BOLOGNA 

visited  the  place,  that  it  was  a  seat  for  a  time  of  the  Imperial 
power,  and  that,  during  the  Second  Empire,  it  was  a  favourite 
residence  of  the  Emperor  and  Court,  and  that  four  hundred 
years  after  Christ,  it  resisted  the  attacks  of  Alaric  the  Goth, 
who  was  defeated  by  the  Roman  forces  at  its  gates  ;  but  of 
all  this  stirring  time  we  have  hardly  a  stone  in  its  place  to 
remind  us,  and  little,  save  the  portions  of  the  old  Roman 
walls  and  bits  of  the  fortifications  around  the  city,  still 
stands  as  a  memorial  of  Roman  Bologna, 

Of  Lombard  times  there  is  little  more  to  be  seen. 

The  only  important  relic  that  stands  to  tell  us  of  those 
early  times  is  the  font  in  the  centre  of  what  is  called  the 
Atrio  di  Pilato,  which  forms  one  of  that  curious  assemblage 
of  churches  under  one  roof  which  is  now  termed  San 
Stefano,  and  which  we  shall  visit  presently.  It  bears  the 
name  of  a  Lombard  king,  Luitprand,  who  lived  in  744. 
Beside  it  there  are  some  columns  in  another  of  these  churches, 
called  Santa  Trinita,  which  are  Lombard,  and  in  all  pro- 
bability yet  another  church  under  the  same  roof,  called  San 
Sepolcro,  preserves  the  shape  and  appearance  and  is  built 
upon  the  site  of  a  Lombard  erection. 


We  then  have  to  make  a  big  stride  to  the  Middle  Ages 
when  Bologna  became  an  important  independent  free  city, 
having  been  governing  itself  from  960,  with  more  or  less 
freedom,  and  growing  rapidly  into  a  strong  powerful 
place. 

*  *  San  Stefano,  to  which  already  so  much  reference  has 
been  made,  is  so  strange  an  agglomeration  of  churches  and 
so  ancient  in  its  building,  that  it  is  to  it  we  will  turn  our 
steps  in  order  to  see  what  can  be  learned  of  the  very  earliest 
work  in  Bologna  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  leaning  towers  are  the  most  notable  objects  in  a 
general  view  of  the  city,  and  close  to  them  branch  out  five 
great  streets,  and  the  church  which  we  seek  is  in  one  of 
these  five— the  Via  San  Stefano. 

The   first   church   which   we   enter  is   comparativeh'  un- 


ETRUSCAN  AND   ROMAN   TIMES  197 

interesting,  and  is  called  the  Crocifisso  Church.  The  only 
thing  worth  noting  in  it  is  the  pulpit,  which  is  twelfth- 
century  work.  From  this  church  we  enter  a  sort  of  en- 
closed passage,  which  has  been  arranged  so  as  to  form 
a  separate  church,  called  the  Capella  della  Consolazione, 
and  then  from  it,  down  some  steps,  into  a  crypt  under 
the  Church  of  the  Crocifisso  called  the  Confessione, 
which  is  of  eleventh  or  twelfth  century  work.  The 
Cloister  close  by  this  church  is  very  charming,  and  the 
upper  gallery  is  supported  by  twelfth-century  round  arches 
on  twin  columns. 

The  next  church  to  be  entered  is  that  of  Santa  Trinita, 
which  is  also  twelfth  -  century  work,  Lombard  in  style, 
and  has  very  ancient  columns  in  it.  Thence  we  pass 
into  an  open  court  around  which  is  a  colonnade,  and  in  the 
centre  of  which  is  the  font  already  named,  which  bears  the 
name  of  Luitprand  upon  it.  It  is  called  the  Atrio  di 
Pilato,  and  on  the  left  is  an  enclosed  chapel  containing  a 
fine  picture  by  Giacomo  Francia,  the  son  of  the  great 
Francia,  and  a  very  remarkable  crucifix,  painted  in  1370, 
by  Simone  de  Bologna,  an  artist  who  devoted  the  best  of 
his  energies  and  almost  all  his  time  to  painting  such  objects 
of  devotion.  From  this  court  opens  out  another  small 
chapel  called  the  Hall  of  the  Lombards,  in  which  are 
preserved  the  keys  of  the  city  of  Imola,  captured  by  the 
Bolognese  in  the  year  1328. 

Leaving  this  church,  a  step  takes  us  into  another  church, 
called  San  Sepolcro,  which  is  a  still  earlier  building  going 
back  to  the  tenth  century,  and  in  which,  a  hundred  years 
later,  San  Petronio  was  buried  in  a  tomb  copied  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem.  This  church 
is  circular,  as  were  so  many  of  these  very  early  ones,  and  is 
supported  by  seven  columns,  which  are  said  to  have  be- 
longed to  the  temple  which  originally  stood  on  the  site, 
and  to  have  been  left  in  their  original  position  when  the 
church  was  first  erected.  The  brick  column  which  now 
stands  in  front  of  each  was  added  in  the  twelfth  century  or 
thereabouts.    The  walls  are  of  brick  and  the  whole  structure 


198  BOLOGNA 

has  been  but  little  altered  since  its  original  erection.  Some 
of  the  columns  are  of  great  beauty. 

Lastly  we  enter  the  Church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul, 
another  twelfth-century  church,  in  which  can  be  found  many 
portions  of  Roman  work  that  belonged  to  the  original  temple. 
This  quaint,  dark  church  contains  the  tombs  of  two  saints, 
martyrs,  St.  Vitalis  and  St.  Agricola,  in  very  early  sarco- 
phagi, which  are  probably  contemporary  with  their  martyr- 
dom in  the  ninth  century.  It  has  also  the  /ro;i  processional 
cross  of  the  saints  which  is  upon  the  wall  to  the  riglit,  and 
on  some  of  the  columns  can  be  found  portions  of  curious 
fresco-work.  A  fine  altar-piece  by  Lorenzo  Costa  stands  in 
it  at  present,  and  the  windows  should  be  noticed  as  they  are 
composed  of  transparent  marble.  It  is  now  only  used  as  a 
mortuary  chapel. 

This  is  altogether  a  strange  and  somewhat  bewildering 
assemblage  of  buildings,  all  clustered  together  and  one 
leading  out  of  the  other,  built  upon  a  sacred  site,  and  con- 
taining amongst  them  almost  all  that  remains  of  the  very 
earliest  history  of  the  city. 


C.   BOLOGNA  IN  ITS  DAYS  OF 
INDEPENDENCE 

The  history  of  Bologna  during  the  Middle  Ages  is  bound 
up  with  that  of  the  struggle  between  the  Guelphs  and 
Grhibelliiies,  in  which  the  city  remained  constant  to  the 
Guelph  side  thoughout. 

A  reference  has  already  been  made  to  this  warfare  on 
page  138  and  it  involved  a  struggle  between  the  powers  of  the 
Church  and  those  of  the  Empire.  Bologna  had  always  been 
a  devoted  daughter  of  the  Church,  and  her  sons  were  noted 
for  their  religious  fervour.  The  characteristic  still  remains, 
and  in  Bologna  will  now  be  found  a  strong  attachment  to  the 
Holy  See  and  a  devotion  amongst  the  people  of  exceptional 
importance.  At  the  same  time  it  has  always  prided  itself 
upon  a  strict  observance  of  its  motto  of  "  Libertas,"  has  been 


BOLOGNA    IN  INDEPENDENT    TIMES        199 

advanced  and  intellectual,  and  able  to  reconcile  with  a 
clear  opinion  and  freedom  of  self-government  in  local  affairs 
a  deep  attachment  in  matters  spiritual  to  the  Supreme 
Pontiff.  Its  tenacity  in  the  support  of  the  Guelphic  cause 
led  to  serious  warfare,  which  continued  for  a  long  space. 
One  of  the  greatest  battles  ever  fought  between  the  rival 
forces,  was  fought  near  to  Bologna  in  1249,  and  the  com- 
mander was  one  Filippo,  who  was  Podestk  of  Bologna.  The 
natural  son  of  the  Emperor,  King  Euzio  of  Sardinia,  was 
in  command  of  the  Imperial  forces,  and  when  the  Ghibellines 
were  defeated  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  people  of  Bologna, 
who  carried  him  in  triumph  to  their  city,  lodged  him  in  the 
Palazzo  del  Podestk,  and  although  they  treated  him  well  as 
a  royal  prince,  kept  him  there  a  prisoner  for  twenty-two  years, 
refusing  with  the  haughtiest  disdain  all  offers  for  ransom 
which  the  Emperor  his  father  made,  and  at  his  death  in  1272 
giving  him  a  place  of  sepulture  in  their  most  sacred  spot, 
the  Church  of  St.  Dominic. 

Few  things  so  pleased  the  Bolognese  as  this  capture  of 
King  Enzio,  and  their  ability  to  retain  him  their  royal 
prisoner  despite  all  the  efforts  of  the  Emperor  and  his  allies 
to  have  him  released.  For  many  years  after  the  death  of 
the  king,  the  people  of  Bologna  continued  to  boast  of  their 
power  and  prowess,  and  on  the  monument  that  was  erected 
over  his  tomb  they  congratulated  themselves  in  the  most 
amusing  manner  over  their  skill  and  determination. 

Later  on  in  the  thirteenth  century  the  state  of  confusion 
into  which  Bologna  had  come,  owing  to  the  pride  of  her 
people  and  the  constant  conflict  between  her  chief  families 
for  supreme  controlling  power,  led  to  her  losing  the  com- 
plete independence  upon  which  she  had  prided  hei'self, 
for  the  more  important  adherents  of  the  Guelph  party, 
fearing  that  the  city  would  be  torn  asunder  in  the  struggle 
and  lose  all  its  position,  appealed  to  the  Holy  See  to  de- 
clare a  definite  supremacy  over  it.  This  was  done  by  Pope 
Nicholas  III.,  who  visited  the  place  in  1277,  reconciled 
the  rival  parties,  and  was  accepted  as  over-lord  by  the 
populace,  who  gave  him  a  very  hearty  welcome. 


200  BOLOGNA 

Bologna  was  then  ruled  by  Papal  legates,  and  this  rule 
continued  in  name  down  to  1506,  although  the  later  rulers 
of  the  Visconti  and  Bentivogli  families  considered  their 
position  more  that  of  supreme  and  hereditary  sovereigns 
than  as  Vicars  for  the  Holy  See,  which  they  actually  were, 
until  Pope  Julius  II.  gave  them  very  clearly  to  understand 
their  rightful  position. 

In  our  consideration  of  the  long  period  that  is  included  in 
the  course  of  events  just  stated  it  is  well  to  commence  with 
the  two  leaning  towers  that  dominate  the  city,  and  which 
are  such  strange  and  prominent  objects  in  the  landscape. 
The  reason  for  their  erection  is  not  known,  but  the  Bolognese 
historians  attribute  them  to  the  pride  of  certain  great  families 
who  desired  to  raise  these  edifices  that  they  might  stand  for 
ever  and  commemorate  the  power  and  wealth  of  their 
builders.  The  taller  tower  was  started  in  the  early  twelfth 
century  by  the  Asinelli  family,  the  smaller  one  by  three 
brothers  Filippo,  Oddo,  and  Marco  G-arisenda  at  about  the 
same  time.  They  may  have  been  built  as  belfries,  or  it  may 
have  been  intended  to  attach  to  each  of  them  some  great 
palace  to  which  they  should  act  as  campaniles,  but  in  all 
probability  they  were  no  more  than  triumphal  monuments, 
erected  to  show  the  dignity  and  vast  means  of  those  who 
built  them,  and  who  erected  them  in  competition  with  each 
other.  Probably  they  were  intended  to  be  encased  in  marble 
as  were  the  western  fronts  of  so  many  churches  in  Italy,  but 
the  cost  was  found  too  great,  or  the  builders  died  before 
the  completion  of  the  work,  and  their  successors  did  not 
feel  inclined  to  waste  more  money  upon  them.  I  do  not 
recommend  you  to  climb  the  stairs  in  order  to  obtain  the 
view,  as  although  the  sight  is  extensive  and  varied,  the  effort 
to  gain  the  top  is  a  serious  one,  and  the  result  is  not 
commensurate  with  the  pains.  As  outlooks  in  time  of  war- 
fare they  were  no  doubt  very  useful,  and  probably  the  original 
idea  of  their  erection  arose  in  that  way.  Their  inclina- 
tion took  place  early  in  the  history  of  their  erection,  possibly 
as  the  result  of  an  earthquake,  or  by  reason  of  the  loose 
character  of  the  soil  or  the  insufficiency  of  the  foundations, 


BOLOGNA    IN   INDEPENDENT   TIMES       coi 

and  the  builders  tried  to  rectify  it  as  their  work  progressed, 
and  eventually,  finding  that  it  was  not  serious,  carried  up  the 
tower  as  high  as  they  could,  preventing  the  inclination 
increasing  by  various  ingenious  devices  in  the  brickwork  on 
the  opposite  side  to  that  on  which  it  leaned. 

The  other  great  tower  in  Bologna,  that  which  crowns  the 
Palazzo  del  Podestk,  was  erected  for  another  purpose, 
having  been  put  up,  when  the  first  attempt  was  made  to 
rescue  King  Enzio,  in  order  that  a  sharp  look-out  might  be 
kept  and  the  safety  of  the  illustrious  prisoner  ensured. 

The  foundation  of  most  of  the  churches  of  Bologna 
belongs  to  the  thirteenth  century,  that  of  San  Petronio,  the 
largest,  being  a  hundred  years  later  in  date. 

The  Church  of  San  Domenico  is,  perhaps,  the  most  im- 
portant one  in  the  city,  and  its  foundation  belongs  to  the 
period  just  named,  but  it  has  been  so  altered,  restored,  and 
practically  rebuilt,  that  it  is  difficult  to  discover  anything 
in  it  that  belongs  to  the  original  structure.  On  our  way  to 
it,  we  shall  mark  the  two  fine  tombs  that  stand  out  in  the 
piazza,  and  the  two  statues  near  to  them.  The  statues  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  and  of  St.  Dominic  are  seventeenth-century 
work,  but  the  tombs  belong  to  a  much  earlier  period. 

They  are  both  of  them  thirteenth-century  work,  and  were 
erected  to  the  memory  of  important  citizens  of  the  city. 

The  one  near  to  the  church,  in  which  the  sarcophagus 
rests  under  an  elegant  colonnade,  supported  in  its  turn 
by  a  series  of  fine  columns  and  crowned  with  a  pyramidal 
roof,  belongs  to  one  Roland  Passagieri,  who  in  1250  was 
head  of  the  notaries  of  the  place,  and  who  was  selected 
to  write  the  letter  to  the  Emperor  in  reply  to  the  one  which 
he  sent  to  Bologna  imperiously  demanding  the  release  of 
his  son  Enzio.  It  was  mainly  on  the  advice  of  this  Roland 
that  the  citizens  determined  to  show  their  power  by  re- 
taining the  king  as  their  prisoner,  and  he  was  selected 
to  convey  to  the  Emperor  their  decision,  which  he  did  in 
a  letter  so  strong  and  haughty  in  its  expressions,  and  withal 
so  well  expressed,  that  it  was  quoted  by  many  writers  of 


202  BOLOGNA 

his  day  with  approval  as  a  model  of  what  such  a  letter 
should  be. 

The  citizens,  feeling  that  Roland  had  given  to  their  city 
an  added  lustre  of  glory  and  dignity,  gave  to  his  remains 
a  magnificent  funeral,  and  buried  him  in  a  prominent 
position,  erecting  over  his  burial  -  place  this  delightful 
monument.  The  other  similar  tomb,  which  stands  near 
to  the  house  in  which  the  deceased  person  resided  and 
which  is  plainer  in  its  structure,  was  erected  a  little  later 
on  to  another  notary  who  appears  to  have  been  a  friend  of 
the  great  Roland  and  his  successor  in  office,  and  who  was 
a  member  of  the  noble  house  of  Foscherari. 

Let  us  now  enter  the  church  and  proceed  at  once  to 
the  large  chapel  on  the  r/£-/i^,  which  contains  the** Area 
di  San  Domenico  one  of  the  greatest  works  of  Niccolo  da 
Pisano. 

St.  Dominic  died  in  Bologna,  and  when  he  was  canonised 
his  bones  were  translated  to  this  church,  and  placed  in  the 
sarcophagus  which  the  great  Niccolo  and  his  pupils  had 
sculptured  for  the  purpose,  and  the  subjects  of  which  are 
the  chief  miracles  attributed  to  the  saint.  The  actual  "  area  " 
only,  is  his  work  and  that  of  his  pupil  ;  the  predella  carvings 
and  the  canopy  having  been  added  three  hundred  years 
later.  As  an  early  work  of  the  great  master  the  sarco- 
phagus is  well  worth  careful  attention,  as  it  marks  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  spirit  in  art,  and  the  beginning  of  that 
movement  w^hich  had  its  full  fruit  in  the  great  pulpits  in 
Pisa  and  Siena,  and  in  all  the  varied  sculpture  of  Giovanni 
and  Andrea  di  Pisano,  who  followed  the  great  Niccolo. 
There  is  a  dignity  and  force  in  the  reliefs  on  this  tomb  and 
a  graphic  power  of  telling  the  story  that  is  not  to  be  seen  in 
the  later  works  by  Alfonso  Lombardi,  which  were  added  in 
1532.  The  kneeling  angels  in  front  are  of  different  date. 
That  on  the  /e/t  is  by  Niccolo  dell'  Area,  who  also  did  the 
wreaths  of  fruit  held  by  the  children  on  the  canopy,  and 
derived  his  sobriquet  from  his  success  with  this  work,  whilst 
that  on  the  ri^/ti  is  said  to  be  an  early  work  of  Michel 
Augelo,  who  also  carved  the  figure  above  of  San  Petronio 


BOLOGNA    IN  INDEPENDENT   TIMES       203 

holding  the  church  in  his  hand.  These  figures  betray  none 
of  the  fiery  spirit  of  the  master,  nor  none  of  his  paganism, 
and  if  they  are  his  work  at  all,  they  belong  to  the  very 
beginning'  of  his  career. 

It  is  known  that  Buonarotti  was  in  Bologna  when  Pope 
Julius  II.  entered  it  in  triumph,  but  this  sculpture  belongs 
to  an  earlier  period  than  that,  and  there  is  but  little 
evidence  to  connect  it  with  the  great  Florentine. 

Above  the  tomb  can  be  seen  a  fine  fresco  by  Guido  Reni, 
one  of  the  really  impressive  works  of  this  invertebrate  artist, 
whose  huge  creations,  spread  over  such  vast  spaces,  are  to 
be  found  in  profusion  in  his  native  city,  and  who  is  buried 
in  this  very  church. 

The  other  important  sight  to  be  seen  in  this  church,  when 
;i  careful  attention  has  been  given  to  the  reliefs  on  the  tomb 
of  St.  Dominic,  consists  of  the  stalls  in  the  choir,  which 
are  the  work  of  two  Dominican  friars,  Fra  Damiano  da 
Bergamo  and  Fra  Antonio  Asinelli,  the  latter  a  member  of 
the  family  who  built  one  of  the  leaning  towers. 

They  were  carved  and  inlaid  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
the  intarsia  work,  representinga  cycle  of  scenes  from  Scripture, 
is  of  the  highest  merit  and  excellence.  The  same  two  friars 
worked  in  the  sacristy,  inlaying  the  entrance  door  and  the 
cupboards  in  which  the  vestments  are  kept,  and  they  are 
said  also  to  have  carved  the  two  statues  of  the  Virgin  and 
St.  Dominic,  although,  if  the  inscription  on  one  of  them  is  to 
be  accepted,  they  were  made  from  a  tree  planted  by  St. 
Dominic  himself,  and  therefore  may  well  have  been  made 
long  before  the  period  of  these  two  good  friars. 

Near  to  the  choir,  in  a  chapel  to  the  rtg-/i^,  is  to  be  found  a 
very  fine  *  picture  by  Filippino  Lippi,  representing  the 
Marriage  of  St.  Catherine,  and  signed  and  dated  1501.  It 
was  painted  for  the  donor  of  the  picture,  who  is  to  be  seen 
in  one  of  the  corners  of  it.  The  **  silver  reliquary  in 
which  the  head  of  St.  Dominic  is  preserved  was  made  in 
1373,  and  is  of  considerable  beauty,  the  chasing,  which  repre- 
sents scenes  from  the  life  of  the  saint,  being  remarkably  fine, 
but  this  treasure  is  so  seldom  to  be  seen  that  it  is  useless 


204  BOLOGNA 

my  describing  it.  Only  once  a  year  can  it  be  exhibited, 
and  even  then  it  is  not  easy  to  come  sufficiently  near  to  it  to 
be  able  to  appreciate  its  beauties,  and  only  the  production 
of  letters  of  introduction  from  the  highest  of  ecclesiastical 
authorities  will  obtain  for  the  visitor  a  special  view  of  the 
relic  and  its  silver  shrine. 

One  more  thing  must  be  noted  ere  we  leave  this  church, 
and  that  is,  in  the  /e//  transept^  opposite  to  the  tomb  of  King 
Enzio,  a  portrait  of  St.  Thomas  Ac[uinas  by  Simone  da 
Bologna,  which  it  is  authoritatively  stated  is  an  actual  like- 
ness of  the  saint  painted  from  a  lost  original  some  eighty 
years  after  the  death  of  St.  Thomas  and  retained  in  this 
church  ever  since. 


We  will  now  leave  the  Church  of  San  Domenico  and 
return  into  the  Piazza,  or  Forum,  already  mentioned. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  impressive  squares  in  Italy  and 
contains  some  remarkable  buildings.  Adjacent  to  it  is  the 
Piazza  di  Nettune,  containing  a  fine  fountain,  which  was 
first  erected  in  about  1560  when  San  Carlo  Borromeo  was 
legate  for  the  Pope  in  the  city,  and  was  one  of  those  bene- 
ficent works  that  the  great  Cardinal  was  so  fond  of  initiating. 
The  Church  of  San  Petronio,  which  has  never  been  com- 
pleted and  is  only  a  portion  of  what  was  intended  to  be 
built,  occupies  an  important  position  in  the  piazza,  and 
opposite  to  it  is  the  Palazzo  del  Podestk,  where  Enzio  was 
confined  and  in  which,  in  1410,  the  conclave  met  when 
Pope  John  XXIII.  was  elected.  The  great  hall  upstairs  is 
now  used  sometimes  as  a  market  hall  and  often  for  local 
exhibitions.  In  this  building  Roland  carried  on  his  duties, 
and  here  still  do  the  notaries  meet  in  their  own  room, 
in  which  are  contained  many  of  their  records,  others  hav- 
ing been  removed  to  the  Library.  Here  are  preserved 
a  vast  quantity  of  papers  which  can,  I  am  able  to 
testify,  yield  information  of  the  greatest  importance  as 
to  Bologna,  and  which  would  well  repay  a  systematic 
examination. 


BOLOGNA    IN   INDEPENDENT   TIMES       205 

On  the  left,  as  one  stands  in  the  square  facing  San 
Petronio,  is  the  impressive  Palazzo  Comunale,  over  the 
entrance  of  which  stands  the  bronze  statue  which  really 
represents  Pope  Gregory  XII.,  who  was  a  native  of  the 
place,  but  which  has  been  turned  into  a  figure  of  San 
Petronio  in  order  to  save  the  figure  from  the  destructive 
ideas  of  the  mob  who  ruled  the  city  during  the  revolution  of 
1796.  The  building  is  used'  as  a  Government  office,  and 
its  architecture  is  composed  of  a  great  variety  of  styles  as  it 
has  been  so  altered  from  time  to  time  that  little  of  its  original 
pointed  work  remains.  There  is  nothing  of  consequence  to 
be  seen  inside,  save  a  fresco  by  Francia,  to  which  I  will 
refer  later  on,  and  which  you  can  see  another  day  when  we 
consider  together  the  art  of  that  great  artist.  Opposite  to 
this  Palazzo  Comunale  is  a  fine  portico  or  colonnade  known 
as  the  Portico  de'  Banchi,  down  which  we  have  already 
passed  to  the  Museo  Civico,  and  we  will  now  pass  again 
beyond  the  door  of  the  Museo  and  turn  in  at  the  next  door 
in  order  to  visit  the  Archiginnasio. 

This  was  the  original  University  building,  although  not 
the  first  place  in  which  the  education  for  which  Bologna 
has  always  been  famous  was  taught,  as  long  before  the 
sixteenth  centuiy  Bologna  had  a  learned  University,  but 
did  not  possess  any  central  building  in  which  the  work 
could  be  carried  on,  and  it  was  therefore  conducted  all 
over  the  city  in  separate  detached  rooms  taken  in  dif- 
ferent houses  by  the  professors.  In  1562  Cardinal  Carlo 
Borromeo,  to  whom  not  only  Bologna  but  so  many 
other  towns  in  Tuscany  owe  great  privileges,  being 
papal  legate  in  the  place,  found  that  a  grievous  state 
of  affairs  existed  owing  to  the  want  of  a  central 
college,  and  he  erected  this  Archiginnasio,  and  placed 
all  the  professors  in  it.  Here  was  the  important  vvork 
of  education  carried  on  till  the  seventeenth  century,  but 
the  chief  rooms  are  now  filled  with  the  fine  library, 
known  as  the  Biblioteca  Comunale,  admission  to  which, 
if   you    are   a   student,   can   easily  be   obtained.      I    want 


3o6  BOLOGNA 

you,  however,  to  enter  this  delightful  building  in  order  to 
see  the  many  thousands  of  coats  of  arms  which  adorn  its 
walls  and  galleries  and  which  are  the  heraldic  achieve- 
ments of  the  past  students  and  professors,  and  seem  to 
cover  every  available  space,  producing  a  remarkable  and 
quaint  decorative  effect. 

There  are  the  remains  of  the  College  Chapel  to  be  seen 
opening  out  of  the  court,  the  walls  and  ceiling  of  which  are 
covered  with  fresco -work  by  a  local  artist  of  the  late 
sixteenth  century,  but  it  is  the  arms  which  are  spread  about 
in  all  directions  that  are  the  sight  of  the  place,  and  some  of 
them  are  so  well  painted  as  to  be  works  of  art  of  consider- 
able importance. 

Now  let  us  return  into  the  square,  mount  the  flight  of 
steps,  and  enter  San  Petronio. 

We  have  here  an  unfinished  fourteenth-century  church, 
the  chief  building  that  was  started  in  the  days  when 
Bologna  was  free.  If  completed  it  would  have  been  a  most 
imposing  building,  but  one  quite  out  of  proportion  with  the 
importance  of  the  city,  as  what  we  shall  see  in  its  interior 
is  only  that  which  was  to  have  been  its  nave  and  two  aisles, 
and  the  church  was  to  have  extended  very  much  further, 
with  a  chancel,  sanctuary,  and  Lady  chapel,  and  to  have 
had  north  and  south  transepts  each  side. 

The  work  of  its  erection  was  continued  down  to  1659, 
when  it  came  to  an  end,  partly  because  there  was  a  growing 
feeling  against  the  expenditure  of  any  more  of  the  town 
money  upon  the  church,  and  partly  because  it  was  con- 
sidered that  to  carry  out  the  [original  plan  would  be  to 
cripple  in  effect  other  buildings,  and  would  involve  the 
destruction  of  part  of  the  Archiginnasio  and  some  fine 
houses  that  stood  near  to  the  church. 

Ere  we  enter  we  must  give  some  attention  to  the  exterior, 
as  the  central  doorway  especially  is  worth  notice.  It  is 
entirely  the  production  of  Jacopo  della  Querela,  the  noted 
sculptor  and  w-ood-carver,  and  was  done  in  1495.  The 
archway  is  covered  with  reliefs  which  embrace  various 
scenes   from    the    Old    and    New   Testament,    over    thirty 


BOLOGNA    IN    INDEPENDENT  TIMES       207 

figures  of  patriarchs  and  prophets,  and  representations 
of  the  Madonna  and  Child  with  San  Petronio  and  San 
Ambrogio,  the  patrons  of  the  city.  The  left  and  right  door- 
ways are  the  work  of  other  artists,  Tribolo  and  Alfonso  Lom- 
bardo  and  their  pupils,  and  are  almost  equally  fine,  notably 
the  Resurrection  under  the  left  archway,  which  is  a  remark- 
able piece  of  carving,  telling  its  story  with  a  clearness  and 
force  that  is  worthy  of  note. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  impressive  on  account  of 
its  vastness  and  by  reason  of  the  great  size  of  the  columns, 
their  height,  and  the  subdividing  of  the  arches  ;  and  it  is 
rendered  still  more  so  by  the  presence  in  the  aisles  of  some 
interesting  mediaeval  crosses  that  originally  stood  at  the 
various  gates  of  the  city,  and  have  been  removed  into  this 
church.  One  of  them  goes  back  to  the  twelfth  century,  and 
all  of  them  are  curious  and  quaint.  The  frescoes  in  the  side 
chapels  are  effective  but  of  very  little  importance,  but  there 
are  some  fine  pictures  in  the  church  by  Costa  which  are 
worth  looking  at,  and  will  repay  attention.  In  the  sixth 
chapel  on  the  r/^'/ii'  is  a  St.  Jerome,  in  the  seventh  on  the  /e/i 
a  Virgin  and  Child,  dated  1492,  and  in  the  fifth  on  the  /eff 
an  Annunciation.  The  Virgin  and  Child  is  an  especially 
fine  picture  and  I  will  refer  to  it  later  on  again. 

The  painted  glass  in  the  fourth  chapel  on  the  right 
should  be  noticed.  It  is  by  a  glass-painter  of  Ulm,  and 
was  made  in  1 491,  as  the  date  on  it  proves.  There  is  also 
some  good  glass  in  the  same  chapel,  in  which  the  Virgin 
and  Child  by  Costa  is  to  be  found,  and  in  the  next  chapel, 
which  contains  the  Annunciation,  is  to  be  noticed  some 
fifteenth-century  intarsia  wood-work  and  a  curious  pavement 
of  enamelled  tiles  of  about  the  same  date,  which  is  as  early 
as  anything  of  this  kind  in  tile-work  is  known. 

The  fine  marble  screens  which  are  to  be  found  in  each  of 
the  chief  chapels  are  also  notable,  and  it  will  be  remarked, 
as  a  curious  feature  of  the  church,  that  there  are  two 
eighteenth-century  clocks  standing  in  the  aisle  on  the  left 
as  one  enters,  which  give  respectively  the  mean  and  the  solar 
time.     Close  to  them  on  the  pavement  is  the  meridian  line. 


2o8  BOLOGNA 

Attached  to  the  church  is  a  small  museum  called  the 
*Museo  di  San  Petronio  and  containing  some  important 
objects.  The  first  room  contains  only  plans  and  designs 
for  the  building  by  many  noted  architects,  including  Palladio, 
together  with  a  model  of  the  church  in  wood  as  it  was 
originally  proposed  to  be  built.  There  is  also  above  the 
mantelpiece  a  curious  picture  of  the  fifteenth  century,  attri- 
buted to  Marco  Zoppo,  evidently  Bolognese,  and  representing 
the  Virgin  and  Child  with  saints,  and  there  are  certain 
quaint  astronomical  instruments. 

In  the  inner  room  is  a  fine  collection  of  sacred  vessels, 
many  of  them  of  great  age  and  interest.  Especially  note- 
worthy are  the  chasses,  or  reliquaries,  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  composed  of  ebony  and  ivory  inlaid  with  precious 
stone  and  crystal,  and  also  the  curious  reliquaries  of  a 
century  later,  which  were  made  from  still  older  ciboria 
transformed  into  reliquaries.  Some  of  the  chasses,  notably 
78  and  79,  contain  fine  enamel- work,  and  many  of  them  are 
of  great  beauty.  There  is  also  a  collection  of  the  ancient 
vestments  of  the  church,  some  fine  illuminated  service-books, 
a  splendid  Pax  and  Monstrance,  and  a  volume  containing 
an  autograph  manuscript  respecting  the  book  of  Psalms  by 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  room 
is  to  be  found  part  of  the  unrivalled  collection  of  books  of 
music  that  belongs  to  this  church,  and  which  extends  from 
the  sixteenth  century  down  to  recent  times. 


From  San  Petronio  I  want  you  to  go  to  two  other  churches 
which  contain  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  century  work  worth 
attention. 

If  you  are  at  the  Hotel  Brun,  as  is  probably  the  case,  you 
turn  to  the  left  on  leaving  it  as  if  you  were  going  away  from 
the  town,  and  turn  down  by  the  side  of  the  hotel  and  in  a  few 
moments  you  will  be  close  to  the  Church  of  San  Francesco. 
You  will  not  fail  to  notice  as  you  approach  the  church  the 
three  important  tombs  that  stand  in  the  street,  one  of  them 
nearly  hidden    by   a    house,   which   will   recall    those   two 


BOLOGNA    IN   INDEPENDENT   TIMES       209 

which  we  saw  in  front  of  San  Domenico.  These  also  are 
erected  to  important  men  who  were  notaries  and  judges  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  and  although  they  have  each  of  them 
come  under  the  hand  of  the  restorer  and  show  signs  of 
having  been  "done  up,"  yet  they  are  interesting  examples 
of  the  important  tombs  that  the  members  of  this  notable 
college  of  lawyers  were  so  fond  of  having  erected.  They 
vvere  all  three  of  them  built  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  The  church  which  stands  so  close  to  them  has 
passed  through  many  vicissitudes,  and  has  in  turns  been  a 
church,  a  barrack,  and  a  custom-house,  and  is  now  again 
held  by  its  original  possessors,  the  Franciscans,  who  have 
restored  it.  The  Campanile,  which  is  the  original  work, 
is  worth  notice,  and  the  effect  of  the  interior  conveys  the 
impression  that  was  given  by  the  original  architects  of  a 
great,  high,  open  church  ;  but  there  is  little  of  the  old  work 
that  has  not  been  restored  out  of  all  character.  Part  of  the 
reredos  is  original  fourteenth-century  work,  but  it  has  been 
added  to  and  altered,  and  is  now  not  worth  study.  The 
other  church  which  I  want  you  to  visit  is  Santa  Maria  dei 
Servi,  and  is  in  the  Via  Mazzini,  one  of  those  four  streets 
which  branch  out  from  near  to  the  leaning  towers,  and  is 
really  not  far  from  San  Stefano,  which  is  in  the  next 
street. 

The  main  feature  of  it  is  not  inside  the  church,  but  outside, 
and  is  the  delightful  colonnade  called  the  Portico  dei  Servi, 
which  occupies  the  square  in  front  of  the  church. 

The  church,  as  its  name  will  tell,  is  a  Servite  one,  and  this 
colonnade  was  built  by  one  of  the  Generals  of  the  Order,  Fra 
Manfredi  of  Forli,  who  lived  in  1390,  and  who  erected  this 
series  of  graceful  arches  of  marble  in  order  to  beautify  his 
church,  to  provide  a  place  for  the  people  to  meet  and  to  listen 
to  sermons,  and  to  give  them,  as  he  states,  "  a  place  where 
they  can  sell  their  goods  and  learn  the  lessons  of  the  life  of 
the  Servite  saint,  San  Filippo  Benozzi,  at  the  same  time." 
He  was  a  skilful  architect,  and  has  done  his  work  with 
remarkable  ability,  and  is  buried  in  the  church  for  which  he 
worked  so  hard,  at  the  back  of  the  choir,  having  died  some 

O 


210  BOLOGNA 

four  years  after  the  completion  of  this  colonnade.  Inside 
his  church  you  can  see  if  you  like,  in  the  tenth  chapel  to  the 
right,  a  marble  wine  jar,  of  charming  design,  which  has 
been  in  this  church  since  1370,  and  was  given  by  the  Sultan 
of  Egypt  to  another  General  of  the  Order,  one  Fra  Vitale, 
as  having  been  used  at  the  marriage  at  Cana  in  Galilee.  It 
is  preserved  in  a  cupboard  near  the  altar,  and  is  a  very  fine 
marble  jar  undoubtedly  of  great  antiquity. 


D.  BOLOGNA  UNDER  THE  BENTIVOGLIO 
AND  THE  HOLY  SEE 

The  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  witnessed  the  times 
of  the  greatest  splendour  for  Bologna,  and  during  that 
time  most  of  the  important  churches  and  palaces  were 
erected. 

Notably  amongst  them  is  the  great  Church  in  the  Via 
Zamboni  of  San  Giacomo  Maggiore,  which  contains  the 
chapel  of  the  Bentivoglio  rulers,  who  were  supreme  for  so 
long  a  period  in  the  city.  The  chapels  in  this  edifice  extend 
all  round  the  east  end  behind  the  high  altar,  and  the 
Bentivoglio  one  is  the  eighteenth  from  the  right  and  at  the 
extremity  of  one  of  the  aisles.  In  it  is  the  important  **  altar- 
piece  by  Francia,  which  that  artist  painted  in  1449,  and 
which  is  one  of  his  most  celebrated  works.  It  is  usually 
covered  and  the  chapel  locked,  but  it  will  readily  be  exposed 
to  view  by  the  old  woman  who  has  charge  of  the  place,  and 
who  is  to  be  found  as  a  rule  in  the  church.  Few  pictures 
that  are  to  be  seen  in  these  northern  towns  are  more  beauti- 
ful than  is  this  one,  in  which  the  Virgin  and  Child  are  sur- 
rounded by  the  patron  saints  and  protectors  of  the  place. 
The  figure  of  St.  Sebastian  especially  is  finely  conceived, 
and  the  angels  that  are  grouped  around  the  central  figure 
are  of  great  sweetness  and  beauty.  Above  the  altar-piece 
is  an  Ecce  Homo  by  the  same  artist.  Near  by  in  the 
same  chapel  is  a  quaint  work  by  Lorenzo  Costa,  repre- 
senting the  founder  of  the  family  with  his  wife  and  children 


BOLOGNA    UNDER   BENTIVOGLIO   RULERS    211 

engaged  in  adoration,  and  close  to  it  is  an  alto-relievo 
of  1458,  representing  Annibale  Bentivoglio  on  horseback, 
by  the  sculptor  who  did  some  of  the  work  on  the  tomb 
of  St.  Dominic,  and  so  obtained  his  name,  Niccolo  dall 
Area. 

The  founder  of  the  family  lies  buried  opposite  to  the 
Bentivoglio  Chapel  in  a  tomb  by  Jacopo  della  Querela 
which  was  originally  intended  for  a  Ferrarese  Doctor,  but 
was  adapted  by  Annibale  for  a  tomb  for  his  father.  The 
effigy  is  upon  an  inclined  plane.  Antonio  Bentivoglio 
was  a  notable  judge,  and  it  was  his  son  Annibale  who, 
ruling  as  the  Vicar  of  the  Pope,  took  to  himself  a  degree  of 
power  which  made  him  almost  independent  of  the  Papacy. 
Annibale's]  son  was  the  Giovanni  Bentivogho  who  ruled  in 
1450,  and  who  was  driven  out  of  the  city  by  the  victorious 
Julius  II. 

In  the  chapel  there  are  also  to  be  seen  other  frescoes  by 
Costa,  representing  scenes  from  Petrarch,  Triumphs,  amongst 
which  is  one  that  is  specially  noteworthy  depicting  the 
Triumph  of  Death.  The  old  woman  who  opens  the  chapel 
will  now  take  you  round  at  the  right  through  a  door,  and 
down  some  steps  into  the  disused  Chapel  of  Santa 
Ceeilia,  also  founded  by  the  Bentivogli,  and  containing 
the  only  frescoes  that  remain  in  Bologna  by  Francia,  who 
did  so  much  fresco  decoration  in  the  city.  The  Chapel 
of  Santa  Cecilia  is  covered  with  the  work  of  Francia, 
his  friend  Costa,  and  their  pupils,  the  two  scenes  near 
to  the  altar,  depicting  the  marriage  and  the  death  of 
the  saint  being  the  only  ones  from  the  master's  own  hand. 
Costa  did  the  two  next  to  those  by  Francia,  and  the  re- 
mainder are  by  other  Bolognese  painters,  who  were  their 
pupils.  All  of  them  have  suffered  much  by  reason  of  the 
damp  and  the  indifference  of  the  custodians  for  many  years, 
but  in  1876  they  were  carefully  repaired,  and  a  method  of 
preservation  applied  to  them  vi^hich  prevented  continuing 
and  arrested  the  further  progress  of  the  injury.  Giovanni 
Bentivoglio  reigned  in  Bologna  for  some  forty  years,  and 
this  chapel  was  one  of  the  many  works  with  which  during 


2IS  BOLOGNA 

that  long  period  he  beautified  his  native  town.  It  was  com- 
menced in  1481,  but  for  some  reason  or  other,  the  work  was 
stopped  for  some  time,  and  the  building  was  not  completed 
till  1504  when  the  work  of  decoration  began,  and  this  was 
continued  during  some  years  and  completed  before  1507, 
The  scenes  which  the  master  himself  painted  are  represented 
in  the  midst  of  local  scenery,  and  no  strong  in  Francia  was 
the  desire  to  be  accurate  that  the  very  situation  in  which 
the  marriage  is  taking  place,  with  its  hills  and  buildings, 
can  be  identified  in  the  present  day.^ 

Returning  through  the  passage  and  chapel  to  the  church, 
there  are  yet  a  few  things  which  it  is  well  to  notice.  In  the 
fifteenth  chapel,  in  which  is  preserved  for  veneration  a 
minute  fragment  of  the  True  Cross,  stands  an  important, 
very  early  altar-piece,  divided  into  many  compartments, 
representing  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  painted  by 
Jacopo  Avanzi. 

Near  to  it  is  an  early  crucifix,  by  Simone  dei  Crocifissi, 
to  whom  I  have  already  referred  on  page  197.  The  other 
notable  picture  is  in  the  eighth  chapel  (always  counting 
from  the  right),  and  is  a  work  by  another  Bolognese  artist, 
Innocenzo  da  Imola,  to  whom  we  will  refer  later  on.  It  is 
a  really  beautiful  picture,  painted  in  a  Florentine  manner,  and 
recalling  the  work  of  Raphael,  who  was  his  master. 


Coming  out  now  into  the  Via  Zamboni,  we  will  cross  the 
street  and  pass  down  the  one  opposite  to  the  church,  the 
Via  Marsala,  which  will  take  us  to  the  Church  of  San 
Martino  Maggiore,  in  which  are  certain  other  notable 
pictures.  Opposite  the  door  in  the  first  chapel  on  the  left  is 
the  chief  one,  a  Madonna  and  Saints,  by  Francia,  which 
is  set  in  a  frame  which  is  also  the  work  of  the  master, 
and  is  a  very  fine  example  of  those  grand  frames 
which  are  a  feature  of  Bolognese  paintings,  and  which 
Francia  delighted  to  devise.  The  whole  altar-piece  is  the 
work  of  this  master,  including  the  Pietk  above,  and  the 
1  "  Francia,"  by  G.  C.  VVilli.imsoii,  1901  (Bell  &  Sons). 


BOLOGNA     UNDER   BENTIVOGLIO   RULERS    213 

Ecce  Homo  below,  and  the  painting  of  the  arms  of  the 
family  who  were  the  donors  of  the  work  on  the  frame  itself. 
The  picture  is  thoroughly  Ferrarese  in  its  arrangement, 
being  pyramidal  and  set  upon  an  open  arch  through  which 
can  be  seen  a  sweet  landscape  beyond.  The  four  saints 
are,  St.  Sebastian,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  St.  Bernardino  of 
Siena,  and  a  fourth  saint,  who  is  called  St.  Roch,  but  is 
not  represented  with  his  usual  emblem,  and  is,  I  think, 
erroneously  given  this  name.  It  is  a  fine  picture,  painted  in 
glorious  colour,  glowing  with  light,  and  very  dignified  in  its 
conception.  Lower  down  the  church  on  the  same  side,  and 
close  to  the  high  altar,  is  a  work  by  *  Perugino,  represent- 
ing the  Assumption,  a  mannered  work,  not  by  any  means  one 
of  Perugino's  satisfactory  pictures  but  undoubtedly  his  own 
painting,  as  the  record  still  exists  of  his  coming  to  Bologna 
to  oversee  its  erection  in  the  church  where  it  still  remains. 
The  only  other  feature  in  this  church  which  requires  notice 
is  the  glass  in  the  round  window  over  the  altar,  which  re- 
presents St.  James,  and  is  from  a  design  by  Francia,  and 
delightfully  rich  in  colour  and  charming  in  drawing.  Two 
more  windows  by  the  master  will  be  found  when  we  go  to 
the  Church  of  the  Misericordia. 

One  other  church  remains  to  be  seen,  and  that  is  San 
Giovanni-in-Monte,  which  is  near  to  San  Stefano,  standing 
back  in  a  very  short  street  up  an  ascent  from  the  Via  San 
Stefano.  It  is  desirable  to  see  this  church,  as  it  contains 
two  works  by  Costa  which  are  very  beautiful,  and  which  are 
also  characteristic  of  the  Ferrarese  treatment  of  landscape, 
with  its  rolling  distant  view  of  hills  and  valleys  carrying  on 
the  eye  from  distance  to  distance,  as  in  Umbrian  pictures. 
In  the  seventh  chapel  on  the  n'£-/it  is  a  Virgin  enthroned 
with  saints,  and  in  the  choir  a  lo\ely  Virgin  between 
God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son  in  the  sky,  and  with 
six  adoring  saints  below,  set  in  a  very  charming  landscape. 
These  pictures  were  both  painted  in  the  same  year,  1497, 
and  are  particularly  characteristic  paintings  by  this  master. 

There  are  other  churches  in  Bologna  in  which  treasures 


214  BOLOGNA 

will  be  found,  hardly  one  without  something  well  worth  see- 
ing and  many  of  them  quite  rich  in  paintings,  but  I  have 
taken  you  to  the  chief  ones,  and  the  others  you  must  visit  if 
you  are  staying  some  time  in  the  place  and  desire  to  obtain 
a  very  clear  view  of  Bolognese  painters  and  their  works. 
They  are  not  so  important  as  the  ones  that  I  have  named, 
and  therefore  I  leave  them. 

The  palaces  of  Bologna  are  often  extremely  fine  in  their 
architecture,  and  will  be  noticed  by  you  as  you  go  along  the 
streets.  A  ver}'  important  one  is  the  Palazzo  Bevilacqua, 
where  the  famous  Council  of  Trent  held  two  of  its  meetings 
when  driven  away  from  Trento  by  fevei\  It  is  said  to  have 
been  designed  by  Bramantino,  and  stands  close  to  the 
central  piazza,  and  the  iron-work  of  its  gallery,  over  the 
entrance  and  also  inside  the  quadrangle,  is  of  considerable 
beauty.  One  of  the  quaintest  houses  in  Bologna  is  the 
Palazzo  Isolani,  in  the  Via  Mazzini,  with  its  strange  over- 
hanging front  of  woodwork  supported  by  huge  wood  beams. 

All  over  the  city  will  be  found  important  palaces  that  are 
worth  notice  and  they  are  a  feature  of  the  place,  revealing 
the  wealth  and  importance  to  which,  in  its  Bentivoglio  days, 
it  attained. 

Another  feature  of  the  city  is  to  be  found  in  the  arcades, 
which  extend  in  all  directions,  and  enable  the  visitor  to  pass 
under  cover  from  one  point  to  another  almost  all  over  the 
city. 

Perhaps  ere  we  leave  the  sights  of  the  place  it  will  be  well 
to  return  for  a  short  time  into  the  Museo  Civico,  which  we 
visited  at  the  beginning  of  our  sojourn. 

It  will  interest  you  to  notice  in  Room  XIV.  the  collection 
of  ancient  musical  instruments,  which  is  as  important  as 
any  in  Europe  and  contains  very  many  instruments  of  great 
rarity.  Bologna  has  always  been  a  great  place  for  music, 
and  it  now  possesses  one  of  the  finest  libraries  of  old  music 
in  Europe,  and  many  of  the  instruments  preserved  in  the 
case  on  the  wall  opposite  to  you  when  you  enter  the  room 
are  local  and  historical.  The  viols  and  viorbas,  trombas  and 
arcilutes,  should  be  noticed,  as  it  is  very  seldom  that  these 


THE   ART   OF  BOLOGNA  215 

quaint  things  which  appear  so  often  in  Italian  pictures  can 
be  seen.  Some  of  the  Hebrew  tombs  in  Rooms  XV.  and 
XVI.  are  worth  attention,  also  notably  the  one  of  1562  in 
which  Pietro  Canonici  is  lecturing  seven  persons,  and  four 
others  are  to  be  seen  peeping  over  the  wall.  The  Zambeccari 
tomb  in  Room  XVI.  commemorates  a  man  who  was  an  im- 
portant member  of  that  family  who  patronised  Francia  in  so 
satisfactory  a  manner. 

Then  lastly  in  Room  XVII.  notice  the  unrivalled  series  of 
ancient  Guild  books  which  are  open  in  the  cases,  and  which 
commence  in  1286  and  continue  down  to  the  sixteenth 
century,  providing  a  marvellously  complete  history  of  the 
guild  life  of  the  place,  full  of  the  deepest  interest  to  historians, 
and  only  waiting  for  some  great  scholar  to  devote  his  whole 
life  to  their  investigation,  and  to  open  up  a  narrative  that 
is  likely  to  be  of  considerable  importance.  Many  of  the 
illuminations  in  these  books  are  admirable  and  quaint  in 
their  naive  simplicity. 


£.  THE  ART  OF  BOLOGNA 

The  art  of  Bologna  is  an  imported  one,  having  come  from 
Ferrara,  and  originated  with  Francesco  Cossa,  who  removed 
from  that  city  to  Bologna  in  1470,  and  settled  in  the  latter 
place. 

There  were,  of  course,  painters  in  Bologna  before  that 
time,  such  as  Simone  dei  Crocifissi,  who  has  been  mentioned, 
Marco  Zoppo,  and  the  school  of  miniature  painters  who  are 
represented  by  Franco  Bolognese,  who  lived  in  the  early 
fourteenth  century. 

Until,  however,  Cossa  left  Ferrara,  there  seems  to  have 
been  no  regular  school  of  artists  in  the  place.  An  even 
greater  and  more  important  link  between  the  schools  of 
Ferrara  and  Bologna  is  to  be  found  in  Lorenzo  Costa,  who 
came  to  Bologna  in  1483,  finding  Cossa  already  there  and 
in  the  full  swing  of  work. 

Costa  formed  a  close  friendship  with  Francesco  Francia, 


2i6  BOLOGNA 

the  goldsmith,  and  they  decided  to  Hve  together,  occupying 
different  floors  of  the  same  house,  and  from  these  two  men, 
who  were  certainly  not  so  much  in  the  position  of  master 
and  pupil  as  in  that  of  friends  helping  one  another,  came 
the  greatest  works  of  the  school. 

Francia  was  already  well  known  as  a  clever  goldsmith  ere 
Costa  came  to  the  place,  and  he  was  also  a  typefounder  and 
an  engraver,  but  he  speedily  became  more  notable  as  an 
artist  than  he  had  been  in  either  of  the  other  crafts,  although 
he  always  signed  his  pictures  as  Atirifabcr,  or  goldsmith. 

He  worked  largely  for  the  Bentivoglio  family,  and  man)- 
of  his  best  works  still  remain  in  the  city,  and  Avhen  his 
patrons  were  driven  out  from  Bologna,  he  stayed  behind 
and  continued  to  work  for  Pope  Julius  II.,  who  was  glad  to 
employ  so  clever  a  craftsman. 

Francia  was  well  ad\'anced  in  years  when  he  first  took 
to  painting,  and  it  is  possible  that  he  might  never  have  de- 
veloped his  powers  had  not  Costa  come  to  Bologna  ;  but  he 
was  too  old  a  man  to  become  a  pupil  of  the  Ferrarese  master, 
and  there  is  as  much  evidence  of  Costa  taking  from  Francia 
as  of  Francia  absorbing  from  Costa  when  the  works  of  the  two 
artists  are  compared.  In  several  cases  they  worked  side  by 
side  at  the  same  altar-piece,  each  doing  his  own  part  of  it, 
and  these  separate  panels  when  compared  bear  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  genius  and  close  friendship  of  the  two 
rivals. 

Francia's  work  is  noted  for  its  full,  rich  colouring,  its 
sweetness,  its  deep  and  intense  pathos,  and  its  truth  and 
accuracy.  He  delighted  in  ornament  and  in  jewellery,  and 
painted  it  with  loving  care  and  attention,  and  he  also  loved 
to  represent  actual  objects,  such  as  vestments,  crosses,  and 
personal  ornaments,  and  to  paint  them  with  such  accuracy 
that  they  can  even  now  be  identified. 

He  has  affinities  with  the  Umbrians,  and  especially  with 
Perugino  ;  and  as  I  have  shown  in  my  book  on  this  artist, 
there  is  every  probability  that  he  met  Perugino  in  Bologna 
at  the  very  time  when  this  Umbrian  influence  can  be  the 
more  clearly  traced,  as  the  great   Umbrian  master  spent 


THE   ART   OF   BOLOGNA  217 

some  days  in  the  city,  in  order  to  superintend  the  hanging 
of  certain  of  his  pictures  ;  and  in  all  probability  the  two  men 
met,  and  had  intimate  conversation  as  to  the  art  which  they 
both  practised  with  such  skill. 

Timoteo  Viti  was  a  pupil  of  Francia,  and  left  him  in 
1495,  returning  to  Urbino,  where  he  is  supposed  by  many 
eminent  critics  to  ha\e  had  a  great  influence  upon  the  youth- 
ful Raphael.  His  works  are  rare,  and  are  reminiscent  of 
the  manner  of  Francia  his  master. 

Other  Bolognese  masters  who  deserve  notice  are  Inno- 
cenzo  da  Imola,  another  pupil  of  Francia,  and  afterwards  in 
the  school  of  Raphael,  with  whom,  it  is  known,  Francia  was 
on  terms  of  closest  friendship  ;  also  Tibaldi,  who  left 
Francia  for  Michel  Angelo  ;  Primaticcio,  \\  ho  went  to  Giulio 
Romano  ;  Abate,  and  others. 

Francia  had,  it  is  said,  as  many  as  two  hundred  pupils, 
and  his  influence  therefore  spread  far  and  near. 

Quite  a  new  school  arose  in  Bologna  some  fifty  years 
after  Francia  had  died,  started  by  Ludovico  Caracci, 
who,  with  his  relatives,  Agostino  and  Annibale,  settled 
down  in  the  place  in  1589.  He  was  by  no  means  a  great 
artist,  but  he  seems  to  have  possessed  the  power  of 
teaching  to  an  important  degree  and  his  pupils  became 
famous.  The  motto  which  he  adopted  as  the  title  for  his 
academy  was,  "  Those  who  regret  the  past,  despise  the 
present,  and  aspire  to  a  better  future."  The  days  were  past, 
however,  for  anything  like  a  great  inspiration,  and  it  was 
the  period  of  huge  canvases  and  frescoes,  dense  shadows, 
large  powerful  figures,  heavy  draperies,  sombre  effect  in 
colour,  and  a  greater  attention  to  the  effect  of  the  picture 
as  a  whole  than  to  the  beauty  of  the  individual  faces  or 
forms.  The  simplicity  of  the  older  masters  had  gone,  their 
fervour  and  devotion  had  given  place  to  quite  other  ideas, 
and  pathos  too  often  degenerated  into  sentimentality,  and 
fervour  into  exaggerated  contortion. 

The  three  Caracci  were  very  different  one  from  the  other. 

Ludovico  was  slow,  heavy,  determined,  with  very   little 


2i8  BOLOONA 

inspiration,  but  plenty  of  knowledge  and  great  ability  to 
teach  others  what  he  could  not  perform  himself. 

Agostino  was  a  very  skilful  engraver,  a  correct  draughts- 
man, and  a  poetical  man,  who  was  learned  in  the  stories  and 
legends  of  the  classics.  His  engravings  are  more  important 
than  his  paintings,  although  his  masterpiece,  which  is  in 
Bologna,  and  which  we  shall  see  presently,  is  a  grand  and 
dignified  work. 

Annibale  was  more  truly  a  genius  than  the  other  two, 
but  he  was  of  a  restless  and  turbulent  character. 

His  works  possess  more  true  pathos  than  do  the  other 
paintings  of  the  school,  and  are  not  only  powerful  but 
sometimes  even  inspired  and  inspiring.  He  was  great  as 
a  painter  of  landscape,  and  devoted  much  time  and  atten- 
tion to  the  landscape  backgrounds  that  were  so  important  in 
his  paintings. 

The  Caracci  had  a  pupil  who  was  a  profounder  genius  than 
his  masters,  Guido  Reni,  and  who,  if  he  had  only  contented 
himself  with  a  few  works  and  those  of  real  inspiration,  would 
have  been  a  really  notable  master.  He  stands  out  with 
Domenichino  and  Albani  amongst  the  host  of  men  who 
worked  in  the  Caracci  school  as  representative  of  distinct 
genius,  but  is  head  and  shoulders  above  his  two  companions. 
At  one  time  his  pictures  were  greatly  in  demand,  and  he 
was  one  of  the  most  popular  of  old  masters.  Now  he  is 
suffering  from  an  equally  unmerited  amount  of  opprobrium. 

His  works  are  so  numerous  as  to  prove  that  he  had  a 
large  number  of  clever  pupils  to  whom  he  allotted  the  minor 
portions  of  his  gigantic  compositions,  but  he  himself  was 
capable  of  flights  of  genius  that  were  all  the  more  impressive 
by  reason  of  the  ordinary  level  of  his  regular  work.  He  was 
fond  of  huge  imaginative  scenes,  dull  neutral  tints,  black 
dense  shadows,  and  idealised  abstractions  that  were  neither 
human  nor  divine. 

Guido  was  a  man  of  tremendous  energy,  extreme  clever- 
ness, and  considerable  executive  genius,  but  his  productive- 
ness was  far  in  advance  of  his  abilities,  and  his  pictures  are 
at  times  both  in  ideas  and  colouring  distinctly  unpleasant. 


THE   ART  OP   BOLOGNA  219 

Domenichino  was  a  sentimentalist,  Albani  a  copyist  of 
other  painters'  ideas,  and  with  them  the  school  passed  away, 
and  Bolognese  art  was  no  more. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  refer  at  some  length  to  these 
Mannerists  or  Eclectics,  who  formed  the  Decadence  of 
Italian  art,  because  they  originated  in  Bologna,  worked  in 
that  city,  are  connected  with  it,  and  their  works  are  so  well 
represented  in  its  gallery  so  that  no  sketch,  however  brief, 
of  the  art  of  Bologna  is  complete  without  them. 

Taken  as  a  whole  they  are  extravagant  and  theatrical. 
Their  origin  was  due  to  the  great  demand  for  pictures,  the 
haste  with  which  they  were  painted,  the  small  sums  that 
were  paid  for  them,  and  the  desire  on  the  part  of  those  who 
commissioned  the  paintings  to  cover  very  large  wall  spaces 
with  effective  bold  decoration. 

Certain  characteristics  belong  to  them  all. 

The  technique,  in  the  case  especially  of  the  Caracci 
and  their  immediate  followers,  is  accurate  and  satisfactory. 
In  drawing  and  in  colour  they  are  often  very  near  to  per- 
fection, but  there  is  no  originality,  no  breathing  spirit  of  in- 
spiration to  be  found.  Nature  is  not  studied  save  in  the 
landscapes  in  the  paintings  of  Annibale,  and  there  is  a 
feeling  of  sham  and  imitation  in  trees,  in  rocks,  hills,  and 
valleys.  The  figures  sprawl  over  the  canvas,  and  are  not 
clothed  in  silk  or  in  satin,  but  merely  in  drapery,  which 
is  monotonous,  vulgar,  and  commonplace.  There  is  no 
delight  in  painting  jewels,  ornaments,  armour,  or  weapons 
with  accuracy  and  feeling,  but  they  are  merely  represented 
or  suggested,  but  not  painted  in  the  true  way  in  w-hich  the 
old  masters  painted  them. 

The  pictures  are  full  of  terror,  horror,  and  cruelty  ;  they 
aim  to  excite  and  impress,  or  else  they  abound  in  such 
exaggerated  sweetness  as  becomes  cloying  and  unpleasant, 
and  is  suited  in  its  way  to  attract  a  vitiated  taste  and  a 
voluptuous  sentimentality. 

Here  and  there  stand  out  pictures  which  are  mannered 
to  a  less  degree,  and  are  to  a  certain  extent  truthful,  but 
on  the  whole  the  school  is  marked  by  degeneration,  which 


220  BOLOGNA 

was,  in  the  hands  of  Carlo  Dolci  and  Sassoferrato,  to 
attain  to  the  lowest  depths  of  false  sentiment  and  unnatural 
feeling. 

Having  thus  glanced  at  the  main  features  of  Bolognese  art, 
let  me  take  you  to  the  gallery  in  which  you  will  find  every 
side  of  it  represented,  in  rooms  particularly  well  lighted, 
arranged,  and  catalogued,  and  specially  convenient  for  study. 

The  tramway  down  the  \^ia  Zamboni  passes  the  door  of 
the  gallery,  and  this  tram  can  be  reached  by  another  one 
which  passes  the  door  of  the  Hotel  Brun,  so  that  if  you 
desire,  as  the  gallery  is  at  the  other  end  of  the  town,  you  can 
ride  to  it  all  the  way.  After  passing  upstairs  and  through 
the  turnstile,  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  walk  on  through  the  first 
few  galleries  till  you  reach  the  chief  room,  which  is  lettered 
E.,  and  in  that  room  begin  your  studies. 

Room  E 

In  this  room  is  an  unrivalled  collection  of  the  works  of 
Francia,  which  are  the  chief  gems  of  the  gallery,  but  per- 
haps it  will  be  well  for  you  to  go  to  the  left  wall  first,  and 
see  the  paintings  by  Cossa  and  Costa. 

64  is  by  Cossa,  signed  in  full,  and  was  painted  by  him  in 
Bologna  for  the  Commercial  Guild  of  the  day  to  adorn 
their  chapel.  It  is  harder  than  the  work  of  Costa,  more 
formal,  dull  in  colouring,  not  free  from  forced  and  awkward 
contorted  attitude,  and  somewhat  rigid  in  its  expression. 
The  kneeling  donor,  Alberto  de'  Catanei,  is  a  notable  figure, 
and  the  head  of  the  patron  saint  of  Bologna,  San  Petronio, 
is  worth  particular  notice.  The  whole  conception  is  severe, 
quiet,  strong,  and  simple.  The  effect  is  that  of  dignity  and 
restraint.  The  slight  knowledge  of  decorative  effect  and  of 
anatomy  is  compensated  for  by  the  admirable  grouping 
and  the  stern  truth  of  the  picture.  It  is  very  Ferrarese, 
and  forms  a  starting-point  in  our  survey. 

Of  the  work  of  Costa  (65,  392,  and  376)  we  do  not  find 
such  satisfactory  examples  as  those  we  have  already  seen  in 


THE   ART   OF   BOLOGNA  221 

the  churches,  notably  those  in  San  Giovanni-in-Monte. 
San  Petronio  (65)  is  a  dignified  figure,  bearing  in  his  hand 
the  city  of  Bologna,  and  having  with  him  St.  Francis  and 
St.  Dominic.  376  is  a  Marriage  of  the  Virgin,  and  392  a 
Virgin  and  Child  seated.  All  three  are  signed  works,  the 
last  named  being  the  earliest,  1491,  San  Petronio  1502,  and 
the  Sposalizio  1505.  Costa  is  weak  in  colour  compared 
with  his  friend,  there  is  a  timidity  about  his  drawing  and  a 
weakness  about  his  faces,  |while  the  draperies  are  often 
poor  in  colour,  cold  and  greyish  in  tone  ;  but  he  is  not- 
withstanding all  this  a  really  great  master,  a  very  accom- 
plished painter,  who  loses  something  of  his  attractiveness 
when  brought  into  such  close  contact  with  Francia,  but  who 
is  always  inspiring,  enlightening,  and  sumptuous,  with  a 
great  love  for  beauty,  a  quiet  religious  dignity,  and  a  charm 
can  easily  be  felt. 

Now  turn  round  to  the  opposite  wall  and  look  at  the 
works  of  his  friend.  The  earliest  work  in  this  gallery  by 
Francia  is  not  a  painting  at  all  but  is  in  niello.  Item  586 
is  a  frame  containing  two  works  in  metal,  each  intended  as  a 
Pax,  and  worked  by  Francia  in  what  is  called  niello.  The 
little  one  is  adorned  with  the  arms  of  the  Sforza  and 
Bentivoglio  families,  and  was  probably  intended  as  a 
wedding  gift  from  Giovanni  Bentivoglio  to  his  bride  Ginevra 
Sforza.  It;  represents  the  Crucifixion,  and  is  set  within  an 
arch  bearing  an  inscription,  and  having  above  it  a  repre- 
sentation of  Christ  spreading  out  His  wounded  hands  and 
with  an  angel  on  either  side  of  Him. 

The  other  Pax  is  a  later  one,  and  depicts  the  Resurrec- 
tion, and  has  on  it  the  arms  of  the  Felicini  family  and 
Ringhieri  family,  and  was,  like  the  first  named,  probably 
intended  for  a  wedding  gift. 

These  two  panels  of  silver  were  prepared  in  the  following 
way.  The  design  was  cut  with  a  sharp  tool  on  the  metal. 
A  solution  of  borax,  to  act  as  a  flux,  was  brushed  over  the 
metal  plate  and  thoroughly  worked  into  the  incised  lines. 
A  prepared  powdered  amalgam  of  silver,  copper,  lead,  and 
sulphur  was  then  shaken  on  to  the  plate  so  as  to  cover  it 


222  BOLOGNA 

completely.  The  plate  was  then  heated  over  a  charcoal 
fire,  more  amalgam  being  added  as  the  powder  fused  upon 
any  defective  places.  When  the  powder  had  become 
thoroughly  liquid  so  as  to  fill  up  all  the  lines,  the  plate  was 
allowed  to  cool.  After  that  the  plate  was  scraped  down 
so  as  to  remove  all  the  superfluous  amalgam,  leaving  only 
what  had  filled  up  the  incised  lines,  and  then,  lastly,  the 
whole  plate  was  carefully  and  finely  polished  till  it  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  smooth  metal  surface  with  a 
design  upon  it  in  grey-black  lines. 

The  method  was  a  very  favourite  one,  and  was  used  for 
decoration  of  vessels  of  all  kinds,  especially  those  that  were 
used  at  the  altar,  and  was  sometimes  still  further  enriched, 
as  in  the  case  before  us,  by  the  addition  of  coloured  enamel. 
In  process  of  time,  it  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  method  of 
engraving,  and  the  earliest  prints  that  were  made  were 
niello  proofs  used  by  the  niellist  as  tests  of  the  progress  of 
his  work. 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Francia  began  his  success  as  a 
niellist  first,  and  then  afterwards  as  a  painter,  but  he 
always  retained  the  ideas  of  a  niellist  and  a  goldsmith, 
and  we  shall  be  able  to  trace  this  habit  of  thought  and 
action  in  his  pictures.  His  earliest  painting  in  this 
room  is  probably  the  Crucifixion  that  is  near  to  the  works 
of  Cossa  and  Costa  on  the  wall  close  to  the  door.  It  is 
373,  and  it  will  at  once  be  noticed  that  the  draperies  are 
stiff  and  formal  as  if  made  of  metal,  that  the  hands  are  hard, 
and  that  the  amount  of  fine  detail  in  the  picture  bespeaks 
the  goldsmith  rather  than  the  artist. 

The  picture  which  Vasari  calls  the  first  that  Francia 
painted  is  78  and  is  dated  1494,  but  it  is  quite  inconceivable 
that  it  was  the  initial  work  of  the  artist,  as  he  must  have 
painted  many  works  ere  he  could  have  acquired  the 
dexterity  and  skill  that  enabled  him  to  paint  this  very 
lovely  one. 

It  was  done  for  Francesco  Felicini,  and  introduced  into 
it  can  be  seen  the  jewel  that  Francia  did  for  the  same 
church,  that  of  the  Misericordia,  for  which  this  altar-piece 


THE   ART   OF  BOLOGNA  223 

was  painted,  and  which  he  was  requested  to  introduce  into 
the  painting.  It  is  a  Madonna  and  Child  with  Saints 
Augustine,  Monica,  John  the  Baptist,  Francis,  Proculus, 
and  Sebastian.  Mark  the  love  of  detail  that  is  so  clear  in 
this  picture,  not  only  in  the  jewel,  but  in  the  cope  worn  by 
St.  Augustine,  the  clasps  of  the  book,  the  chain  worn  by  the 
donor,  the  staff  carried  by  the  bishop,  and  the  decoration 
on  the  steps  of  the  throne.  Such  details  will  always  be 
found  in  the  pictures  of  Francia,  painted  with  infinite  care 
and  attention  and  yet  never  allowed  to  detract  from  the 
right  understanding  of  the  picture,  but  treated  as  accessories 
with  just  the  discretion  that  they  needed. 

The  picture  which  hangs  so  close  to  it  was  done  soon 
after  this  one,  and  was  the  result  of  the  great  satisfaction 
given  by  Francia  to  the  Bentivoglio,  by  the  altar-piece 
painted  for  the  Church  of  San  Giacomo  which  we  have  seen 
earlier.  This  one  was  done  for  the  son  of  the  ruler,  one 
Antonio,  who  was  Archdeacon  of  the  city,  and  was  part  of 
an  altar-piece  commissioned  from  the  two  painters,  Costa 
and  his  friend,  for  the  Church  of  the  Misericordia. 

The  lunette  by  Costa  is  still  in  the  church,  but  so  high 
up  and  in  so  bad  a  light  as  to  be  almost  invisible,  and  the 
predella  we  have  already  seen  in  Milan.  With  a  view 
I  suppose  to  subordinating  his  colour  scheme  to  Costa's 
cooler  and  quieter  scheme,  Francia  has  substituted  for  his 
customary  rich  colouring  a  colder  tone,  and  this  has  been 
intensified  by  the  "  rifacimento "  to  which  this  work  has 
been  treated.  The  persons  who  are  introduced  into  this 
picture  are  not  only  Antonio  the  donor,  who  is  kneeling  in 
adoration  and  who  is  depicted,  as  he  has  but  so  lately 
returned  from  the  Holy  Land,  in  the  garb  of  a  pilgrim,  but 
opposite  to  him  Girolamo  Pandolfi  di  Casio,  his  great 
friend,  who  had  been  on  pilgrimage  with  him,  and  who  was 
a  poet  and  had  received  the  laurel  wreath,  and  also  St. 
Joseph  and  St.  Augustine,  and  a  person  who  is  called 
St.  Francis. 

We  must  not  go  round  each  of  the  pictures  in  this  room  in 
full  detail,  or  we  shall  not  have  any  space  for  the  considera- 


224  BOLOGNA 

tion  of  other  rooms,  but  Francia  is  so  much  the  greatest 
artist  represented  in  the  gallery,  that  it  is  well  to  devote 
special  attention  to  him,  even  if  others  suffer  thereby. 
Number  80  is  a  very  lovely  picture  representing  the 
Madonna  and  Child  with  four  saints,  and  here  the  effect 
of  colour  is  remarkable,  as  it  is  mainly  green  in  its  varying 
shades,  and  green  can  be  found  all  over  the  picture,  each 
shade  harmonised  in  a  wonderful  manner.  This  work  is 
called  the  Manzuoli  altar-piece,  having  been  commisioned 
by  a  lady  of  that  name  ;  the  angel  in  it  is  of  peculiar 
beauty. 

The  strange  crumpled  effect  of  the  draperies  upon  the 
ground  near  to  the  feet  of  each  figure  is  due  to  the  influence 
of  Costa  and  is  Ferrarese,  but  as  Francia  developed  he 
left  this  odd  mannerism  behind  him,  and  we  do  not  find  it 
in  his  later  works. 

The  Scappi  altar-piece  (372),  painted  for  Giovanni  Scap- 
pus,  belongs  to  about  the  same  period,  and  represents 
St.  Francis  and  St.  Paul  with  the  Madonna  and  Child.  Of 
the  Annunciation  there  are  two  paintings  in  this  gallery, 
79  and  371,  the  latter  being  the  earlier  one  of  the  two. 
It  is  dated  1500,  and  although  a  little  crowded  in  arrangement 
is  a  very  lovely  picture.  The  four  saints  are  grand  figures, 
St.  John,  St.  Francis,  St.  Bernardino,  and  a  warrior  saint, 
either  St.  George  or  San  Proculo-Soldato.  It  was  painted 
for  a  Franciscan  church,  and  therefore  has  the  arms  of  the 
Order  upon  it.  Notice  also  the  painting  of  the  birds  and 
plants  which  are  always  in  Francia's  pictures  depicted 
with  such  accuracy  and  such  care.  The  other  Annunciation 
is  a  later  one,  simpler  in  character  although  not  so  late,  and 
therefore  not  so  simple  as  the  one  that  we  saw  in  Milan. 
Here  there  are  only  two  saints,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
Madonna,  and  the  quiet  calm  expression  of  the  face  of 
the  Virgin  is  very  delightful  and  attractive.  This  work  (79) 
is  a  very  grand  piece  of  colour,  red  in  all  its  tones,  and 
exemplifies  one  more  of  Francia's  characteristics,  the  love 
he  has  of  making  one  colour  tone  all  the  effect  of  the 
picture  and  give  the  key  to  its  colour  scheme. 


THE   ART   OF   BOLOGNA  225 

We  have  seen  how  green  tones  the  Manzouli  picture,  and 
appears  even  in  the  shot  colour  of  the  vestments  in  the 
mantle,  the  Hning  of  the  vestment,  the  armoury,  the  hills, 
the  columns,  the  dragon,  and  the  throne.  We  may  notice 
a  blue  effect  in  the  Bentivoglio  Adoration  of  the  Child, 
a  brown  in  372,  a  reddish  grey  in  78,  and  here  we  find  red 
taking  the  same  chief  place.  There  are  other  works  by 
Francia  in  the  room  \\'hich  require  attention.  We  may  look 
at  the  early  Piet^  (83),  full  of  tender  pathos  ;  at  the  delightful 
Madonna  and  Child  (499),  with  most  characteristic  beauty 
in  the  face  of  the  Virgin,  and  gay,  bright,  irresponsible  child- 
hood expressed  in  the  Divine  Infant ;  and  we  may  look  at 
the  quaint  votive  predella  (82),  small  and  full  of  strange 
mystical  teaching,  and  painted  for  the  Church  of  the 
Misericordia  by  a  donor  to  commemorate  the  event  to 
which  I  have  given  some  attention  in  my  book  on  this 
artist.  Having  now  gone  round  all  the  chief  works  by  the 
great  artist  in  the  room,  it  will  be  well  to  look  at  those 
painted  by  his  son  and  successor  which  are  above  them  in 
the  higher  tier  numbered  84,  85,  86,  B>7,  and  588.  In  them 
will  be  seen  the  same  idea  of  glorious  colour  that  char- 
acterised the  father,  but  it  is  harder  and  cruder  in  tone,  and 
Giacomo  has  not  ability  to  melt  one  hue  into  another  that 
his  father  possessed  in  so  pre-eminent  a  degree.  There  is 
far  less  originality,  much  more  stiffness,  and  a  lacking  in 
inspiration  that  is  very  marked  ;  and  after  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  father's  works,  you  will  not  care  to  devote 
much  attention  to  the  son. 

We  will  now  leave  this  room,  but  if  you  are  sufficiently 
interested  in  Francia  to  carry  your  investigation  further,  I 
can  recommend  you  to  visit  the  Church  of  the  Misericordia 
which  is  outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  just  beyond  the  Porta 
Castiglione,  and  which  was  in  Francia's  time  the  most 
popular  church  in  Bologna,  and  the  one  for  which  many  of 
his  greatest  works  were  painted.  In  it  you  will  find  the 
part  of  the  altar-piece  done  by  the  two  friends  which  Costa 
painted,  a  curious  fresco  by  Francia,  and  above  all  some 

P 


226  BOLOGNA 

lovely  stained  glass  in  two  circulai-  windows  that  were 
designed  and  coloured  by  the  artist.  Then  in  the  Archigin- 
nasio,  in  the  inner  Library,  you  will  be  shown  the  earliest 
work  of  Francia  that  remains  in  Bologna,  a  Crucifixion, 
which  is  very  full  of  the  goldsmith  characteristic,  and  is 
curiously  hard  and  angular  in  its  draperies  and  limbs.  It 
is  redolent  of  the  niellist  to  a  greater  extent  than  any 
other  work.  In  the  church  of  San  Vitale  ed  Agricola 
in  the  Via  San  Vitale  you  will  find  a  very  archaic  sacred 
picture  to  which  Francia  has  painted  some  angels  playing 
on  musical  instruments,  placing  his  canvas  over  the  original 
picture,  which  can  be  seen  through  a  large  oval  in  it, 
and  adding  his  delightful  angels  at  the  desire  of  the  people 
who  worshipped  at  the  church,  in  order  to  give  additional 
honour  to  their  favourite  Madonna. 

Another  interesting  work  of  the  same  artist  can  be  found  in 
the  Palazzo  Comunale,  in  the  building  over  the  entrance  of 
which  can  be  seen  the  figure  of  the  Pope,  which  I  told  you 
was  transformed  into  that  of  the  San  Petronio.  It  is  upstairs 
on  the  first  floor,  and  is  a  fresco  painted  on  a  wall  to  com- 
memorate the  safety  of  the  city  during  a  terrible  earthquake 
of  1505,  and  is  undoubtedly  a  genuine  work  of  the  master's 
own  hand,  and  has  an  interesting  inscription  underneath  it. 
Lastly,  you  may  care  to  see  a  work  of  Francia's  early  days, 
a  Madonna  and  Child  which  is  in  the  third  chapel  on  the 
right  in  the  church  of  San  Dominico,  and  which  has  orna- 
mental crowns  of  metal-work  attached  to  its  canvas,  quite 
spoiling  the  picture,  and  which  it  is  very  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  to  see  adequately  unless  you  can  get  the  glass 
door  which  covers  it  opened.  Its  position  is  over  a  very 
important  altar  at  which  several  miracles  are  said  to  have 
been  wrought,  and  by  reason  of  which  this  extra  adornment 
was  given  to  the  picture. 

All  these  pictures,  and  the  quaint  shield  made  by  Francia, 
with  some  delightful  niello-work  around  its  border,  preserved 
in  the  house  of  the  Rodrigrez  family  and  not  often  to  be 
seen,  will  be  found  fully  described  in  my  work  on  Francia, 
but  are  noted    here   in    case  that  you  may  care  when  in 


THE   ART  OF   BOLOGNA  227 

Bologna  to  make  a  fuller  study  of  this  artist  and  his  works 
than  the  space  of  this  book  will  allow  me  to  set  forth. 

We  will  now  leave  the  Francia  room  and  return  back  into 
the  next  room,  called  D. 


Room  D 

The  chief  picture  in  this  room  is  the  celebrated  work 
of  Raphael  (152)  representing  St.  Cecilia,  which  is  con- 
sidered the  chief  ornament  of  the  gallery.  The  guides  with 
persistent  importunity  will  seem  to  begrudge  every  minute 
that  you  give  to  other  \\'orks,  unless  you  give  what  in  their 
ideas  is  a  proper  attention  to  this  picture,  which  they  seem 
to  think  is  worth  in  merit  all  the  others  put  together.  It  has 
unfortunately  been  so  terribly  restored  that  whatever  beauty 
it  once  possessed  is  very  much  a  matter  of  the  past.  The 
sky  has  been  scandalously  repainted  in  the  roughest  manner, 
and  all  the  delightful  cherubs  which  filled  the  heaven,  as 
they  do  now  in  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto,  at  Dresden,  and 
which  can  yet  be  seen  in  the  sketches  for  this  Santa  Cecilia, 
have  long  ago  disappeared,  and  therefore  one  of  the  greatest 
beauties  of  the  composition  has  gone.  The  face  of  the 
Magdalen  who  stands  by  the  side  of  St.  Cecilia  is  still  one 
of  great  loveliness,  but  the  process  of  transferring  the  picture 
from  panel  to  canvas,  and  the  repainting  of  many  of  the  faces 
has  ruined  the  rest  of  the  work.  The  picture  was  painted 
for  Elena  dal'  Oglio,  a  relation  of  Cardinal  Pucci,  in  15 13, 
and  finished  in  151 5,  and  was  intended  for  a  chapel  of 
St.  Cecilia  in  San  Giovanni-in-Monte,  where  now  in  the 
transept  close  to  the  grave  of  the  donor,  a  copy  of  the 
picture  hangs.  The  faces  must  all  have  been  very  lovely,  as 
traces  of  great  beauty  can  still  be  perceived  in  them,  but  at 
no  time  can  the  work  have  been  one  of  Raphael's  greatest 
successes,  by  reason  of  serious  errors  in  its  composition. 
Deserting  the  accepted  method  adopted  by  artists  of  his 
period,  notably  by  those  of  the  Florentine  and  Bolognese 
school,  of  painting  inanimate  objects  from  the  object  itself 
and  with  accurate  detail,  Raphael  in  this  picture  gave  a  free 


228  BOLOGNA 

rein  to  his  imagination,  and  so  spoiled  the  very  feature  of 
his  picture  which  he  desired  should  be  important,  and  which, 
in  the  hands  of  such  a  man  as  Francia,  would  have  been 
delightful. 

Not  one  of  the  musical  instruments  is  correct.  The  viol 
has  its  strings  broken  and  yet  the  bridge  stands  upright, 
although  nothing  is  holding  it,  and  the  tail  is  yet  strained 
out  in  the  proper  direction  ;  the  pipes  of  the  organ  are  falling 
out  of  the  frame  as  no  pipes  could  possibly  fall  were  the 
Portable  Organ  held  in  the  position  in  which  the  saint  holds 
it,  and  with  the  connecting  string  broken  ;  the  wooden  pipes 
are  broken  across  at  just  their  strongest  parts,  where  by  no 
possibility  could  they  have  broken  ;  and  even  the  viol  is  itself 
broken  where  it  is  not  in  the  least  likely  that  it  would  have 
sprung,  and  in  a  manner  into  which  the  wood  could  not 
possibly  go. 

The  design  is  Raphael's,  the  composition  is  delightful, 
and  one  of  the  faces  is  fine,  but  more  than  that  I  cannot 
with  any  honesty  say  ;  and  as  regards  real  art,  there  are 
many  pictures  in  the  room  that  we  have  just  left  that  are  far 
finer  and  far  more  instructive  than  is  Raphael's  St.  Cecilia 
in  its  present  condition. 

Opposite  to  it  hangs  a  lovely  *  Perugino  painted  for  the 
same  church  of  San  Giovanni-in-Monte,  representing  the 
Virgin  in  glory  with  four  adoring  saints,  St.  Michael,  St. 
Catherine,  St.  John  the  Divine,  and  St.  Apollonia.  The 
St.  Michael  is  the  same  figure  as  appears  in  the  Certosa 
altar-piece  in  the  National  Gallery,  but  perhaps  finer  in  figure 
and  more  refined  in  beauty  (mark  especially  the  hands)  than 
in  that  celebrated  work,  while  the  other  three  figures  are 
stately  and  impressive  in  their  calm,  isolated  composure. 
The  picture  was  painted  in  1498,  and  in  the  following  year  I 
have  ascertained  that  Perugino  visited  Bologna  to  see  to  the 
hanging  of  the  picture,  and  there  no  doubt  met  with  Francia, 
who  was  at  that  time  in  the  full  pursuit  of  his  art. 

To  that  meeting  I  attribute  much  of  the  Perugino  influence 
that  appears"  in  the  works  of  Francia,  or  else  to  an  earlier 
visit  which  the  great  Umbrian  paid  to  Bologna. 


THE    ART  OF  BOLOGNA  229 

Other  noteworthy  pictures  in  this  room  are  61,  a  very  fine 
Cima  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  a  lovely  BeUinesque  picture 
in  its  original  frame  and  signed  by  the  artist  in  full ;  some 
interesting  works  by  Imola,  notably  216,  a  dreary  picture 
but  of  pleasing  colour ;  292,  a  very  Raphaelesque  picture, 
too  rosy  in  colour  ;  and  89,  a  very  effective  work  ;  210  is  by 
Giulio  Romano ;  198  is  by  Vasari,  author  of  the  "  Lives  of 
the  Painters"  ;  and  145  is  by  Tintoretto. 

Room  C 

There  is  nothing  in  Room  C  which  need  detain  us  for  a 
moment,  as  all  the  pictures  that  it  contains  are  by  the  various 
lesser  men  whom  Bologna  produced  in  such  numbers. 

Room  B 

Room  B  represents  the  Caracci  and  their  school. 

Of  Ludovico  the  founder  there  are — 42,  Madonna  and 
Child  ;  43,  Transfiguration  ;  47,  Conversion  of  St.  Paul ; 
48,  Madonna  in  Glory  and  others  ;  but  all  of  them  are 
marked  by  extravagance,  contoilion,  dense  shadows,  and 
dreadful  faces.     Mark  especially  the  Madonna  in  42. 

By  Agostino  there  are — 34  and  35,  hot,  dreamy,  and 
theatrical,  although  good  in  tone  on  the  whole,  and  accurate 
in  drawing. 

By  the  greatest  man  of  the  three,  Annibale,  there  are 
many  works.  36  and  37  are  examples  of  mere  beauty,  some 
lovely  faces,  a  delightful  truth  and  accuracy  in  drawing, 
fair  colouring,  but  an  entire  absence  of  spirituality  or  in- 
spiration. 

Still  later  men  are  represented  in  206,  207,  and  208, 
which  are  by  Domenichino,  very  theatrical,  mystic  pictures, 
emotional,  powerful,  strong,  but  lacking  in  any  gentle  spirit, 
or  in  true  devotion.  They  are  exciting  pictures,  full  of 
horror,  especially  208,  which  appeals  only  to  the  lower 
emotions  of  pain  and  terror,  and  yet  there  is  a  grandeur 
about  them,  and  ability  and  skill  are  marked  in  the  tech- 
nique, handling,  and  grouping.     Mark  in  207  the  presence 


230  BOLOGNA 

in  the  hand  of  each  person  of  a  rosary,  and  the  mystic 
character  that  the  artist  has  given  to  the  composition. 

The  other  important  pictures  in  this  room  are  still  less 
satisfactory  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  and  belong  to  a 
still  later  man,  Gruercino.  The  pathos  in  them  is  artificial 
and  ignoble,  the  colouring  and  lighting  unearthly  and  exag- 
gerated, the  shadows  absurdly  dense,  and  the  composition 
theatrical. 

Room  A 

Now  let  us  enter  the  first  room  A,  which  is  given  up 
practically  to  Guide,  by  whom  all  the  chief  works  in  it  were 
painted.  The  finest  one  is  undoubtedly  the  rough  sketch 
for  the  *Ecce  Homo  (142),  which  is  far  finer  than  the 
finished  picture,  bolder,  more  truthful,  less  emotional,  and 
less  forced  in  pathos.  The  chief  work  in  the  room  is  the  vast 
Madonna  della  Pieta  (134),  which  represents  the  Virgin 
and  Child,  and  the  chief  saints  connected  with  Bologna  ; 
and  beneath  them,  as  in  Francia's  fresco  of  the  Madonna 
Terremoto  in  the  Palazzo  Comunale,  a  view  of  the  city 
with  its  walls  and  towers.  There  is  no  doubt  that  at  times 
Guido  proved  himself  to  be  really  great.  In  style  and 
colouring  he  was  at  times  delightful,  but  he  never  could 
keep  up  to  the  high  level  throughout  a  picture,  and  in  this 
one  there  are  parts  which  are  merely  silly  sentiment.  The 
picture  is,  however,  interesting  and  imposing. 

In  135,  the  Slaughter  of  the  Innocents,  it  is  horror  that  is 
depicted  and  not  grief.  There  is  no  pathos  in  Guido,  unless 
it  appears  in  the  Ecce  Homo  sketch  ;  all  the  rest'is  theatrical. 

The  banner  picture  (138)  must  not  be  overlooked.  It 
was  painted  to  be  used  as  a  processional  banner,  and  is 
certainly  a  good  composition,  and  better  in  colouring  than 
othei's  ;  but  it  was  too  quickly  painted  for  the  artist  to  be 
able  to  put  much  conscientious  work  into  it,  and  there  is 
very  little  feeling  to  be  discovered  in  it. 

In  this  room  there  is,  however,  one  really  fine  picture 
of  quite  a  different  school  (360),  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
the  work  of  Niccolo  da  Foligno,  called  A.!.unno.     Here  is 


THE   ART   OF  BOLOGNA  231 

the  work  of  a  man  of  another  age,  deficient,  if  you  Uke,  in  the 
knowledge  that  these  later  men  possessed,  but  full  of  de- 
votion and  reverence,  having  plenty  of  time  and  plenty  of 
desire  to  paint  a  picture  that  should  tell  the  story  that  existed 
deep  down  in  his  own  mind,  and  which  he  felt  he  must 
translate  into  colour  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  then  offer 
as  an  expression  of  devotion  to  Her  in  whose  honour  it  was 
painted.  It  was  done  in  1482,  a  very  early  date  compared 
with  what  we  have  been  examining.  It  is  strange,  weird, 
and  perhaps  hard,  but  there  is  an  inspiration  in  it  which  all 
these  vast  canvases  of  the  later  time  wholly  lack. 


The  Corridor 

Now  let  us  return  through  the  whole  suite  of  rooms  again 
into  the  Francia  room,  and  leave  it  by  the  other  door  turning 
into  the  corridor  for  a  few  minutes. 

Here  we  are  amongst  the  Primitives  again.  We  shall 
not  find  accurate  drawing,  we  shall  notice  strange  colour 
and  technique,  and  a  gradual  striving  after  better  things, 
but  we  are  back  again  from  the  times  of  theatrical  trickery 
to  the  times  of  devotion. 

205  is  an  important  early  Venetian  work  by  the  Vivarini, 
1450. 

102  is  by  Giotto,  simple,  direct,  telling  its  story  well ;  just 
the  faces  and  no  more  ;  quite  a  delightful  work. 

202  is  said  to  have  been  painted  by  that  local  saint  of  high 
repute,  St.  Catharine  Vigri,  and  represents  St.  Ursula.  It 
is  a  picture  of  1450. 

Then  there  are  numerous  works  by  Avanzi,  by  early  Bolog- 
nese  men,  by  Lippo  Dalmasio,  Simone  da  Bologna,  and  by 
unknown  artists  ;  but  this  little  gallery  will  repay  some  careful 
attention,  and  will  quiet  you  after  the  overwhelming  effect  of 
the  later  pictures,  and  enable  you  once  again  to  correct  your 
ideas  and  gather  up  your  scattered  thoughts  into  focus. 

Only  the  first  part  of  this  gallery  (entering,  that  is,  from 
the  Francia  room)  will  need  attention  ;  all  the  rest  can  be  left 
out  entirely. 


232  BOLOGNA 


F.  EXCURSIONS  FROM  BOLOGNA 

If  there  is  sufficient  time  it  is  well  for  you  to  try  and  see 
the  old  Olivetan  church,  called  San  Michele  in  Bosco,  that 
stands  about  two  miles  from  the  Porta  d'Azeglio.  To  do  so 
you  have  to  write  to  the  Director  for  an  order,  and  at  your 
hotel  you  will  be  informed  to  whom  to  address  your  letter. 
The  order  is  sent  to  you  the  next  day  at  your  hotel,  and  the 
church  can  be  seen  on  certain  days  only.  Its  position  is 
superb  on  the  top  of  a  very  high  hill,  and  it  can  be  easily 
reached  by  going  most  of  the  way  by  tram,  and  walking  the 
remainder  of  the  distance. 

On  arriving,  one  word  of  caution  is  needful.  The  whole 
convent  is  now  occupied  as  an  orthopaedic  hospital,  and  the 
order  admits  you  first  to  this  hospital,  of  which  the  authorities 
are  veiy  proud  ;  and  unless  you  are  very  determined  and  firm 
in  your  decision  only  to  see  the  church  and  the  frescoes 
that  you  have  come  to  see,  you  will  be  first  of  all  taken 
through  the  hospital,  and  worried  by  the  sight  of  horrid 
instruments,  operating  rooms,  wards,  nurses,  and  poor  cripples 
with  all  sorts  of  terrible  complaints. 

The  system  is  to  take  the  visitor  through  all  this  dis- 
tressing sight  in  order  to  obtain  for  the  custodian  a  fee 
before  you  are  allowed  to  enter  the  deserted  church,  which 
the  authorities  consider  of  far  less  importance  than  their 
hospital,  with  all  its  instruments  of  torture.  If  you  are  quite 
firm  in  your  refusal,  however,  to  cross  the  steps  of  the  hospital, 
you  will  be  taken  into  the  church  through  a  lovely  doorway, 
the  work  of  the  celebrated  Peruzzi,  passing  two  exquisite 
holy-water  basins,  and  will  see  some  fine  intarsia  work  in 
the  stalls.  The  cloister  contains  some  interesting  ruined 
frescoes  by  the  Caracci  much  more  important  than  their 
paintings,  and  in  the  refectory  you  will  find  a  very  attractive 
series  of  views  of  all  the  houses  of  the  Order,  forming  a 
charming  decoration.  There  is  not  very  much  in  all  to  be 
seen,  but  the  excursion  is  worth  taking,  as  the  exterior  of  the 
church  is  good,  its  position  delightful,  and  the  frescoes  in 


EXCURSIONS  FROM   BOLOGNA  233 

the  cloister  and  those  in  the  choir  by  Innocenzo  da  Imola 
are  important  in  the  history  of  Bolognese  art. 

Another  excursion  that  can  be  made  is  to  the  Certosa, 
which  is  now  used  as  a  Campo  Santo.  This  also  can  be 
reached  by  tram,  with  a  short  walk  from  the  point  where  the 
tram  stops.  The  actual  cemetery  is  not  interesting,  but  the 
Carthusian  church  has  some  excellent  stalls  in  it,  some 
good  fresco-work  by  Ludovico  Caracci,  and  is  an  interesting 
piece  of  fourteenth-century  architecture.  Close  to  it  will  be 
seen  the  beginning  of  the  interminable  colonnade,  which 
leads,  after  nearly  three  miles  of  walking  under  cover,  up  to 
the  Sanctuary  of  the  Madonna  di  San  Luca,  the  most 
sacred  place  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  church  contains 
the  miraculous  picture  said  to  have  been  painted  by  St. 
Luke,  and  regarded  with  much  veneration  ;  but  besides  that 
there  is  only  an  early  work  of  Gruido  to  be  seen,  and  the 
view  to  the  visitor,  which  is  of  great  beauty,  is  the  chief 
attraction. 

There  are  many  delightful  drives  about  the  outskirts  of 
Bologna,  and  some  interesting  villas  that  can  be  visited  if 
time  and  inclination  permit. 


RAVENNA 

A.  INTRODUCTORY 

RAVENNA  is  like  no  other  town  in  Italy.  It  stands 
quite  apart  from  all  others  and  is  entirely  distinctive. 
It  can  be  compared  with  no  other  place,  and  the  page 
of  history  which  it  illumines  is  lighted  up  by  no  other  place 
in  the  world.  To  properly  understand  it,  Ravenna  is  the 
only  guide,  and  since  the  time  of  the  city's  great  prosperity, 
it  has  practically  stood  still,  has  crystallised  with  all  its  relics 
about  it,  and  now  it  reveals  them  to  the  visitor  who  steps 
back  in  Ravenna  to  the  very  early  centuries,  from  the  fourth 
to  the  eighth,  and  finds  that  the  whole  history  of  the  place 
is  in  those  early  times. 

In  Roman,  times  it  was  not  so  much  one  town,  as  a 
collection  of  three,  which  were  so  closely  intertwined  as  to 
be  one  in  completeness.  There  was  Ravenna  proper,  there 
was  the  port  of  Classis  founded  by  Augustus,  and  then  there 
was  the  long  line  of  houses  called  Caesarea,  which  connected 
Classis  with  Ravenna.  Of  this  last,  nothing  but  a  church 
and  a  few  cottages  remain  ;  of  Classis,  only  the  great  basilica 
of  Sant'  Apollinare  in  Classis  and  a  few  cottages  close  by  ; 
and  only  Ra\'enna,  itself  much  shrunken  from  what  it  was, 
now  stands  to  tell  us  of  the  past  glories  of  the  place. 

The  chief  histor\'  of  Ravenna,  however,  commences  with 
the  time  of  Honorius,  the  son  of  Theodosius,  who  reigned 
from  395  to  423  over  the  Western  Empire,  his  brother 
Arcadius  taking  the  Eastern. 

Honorius,  whose  reign  was  one  long  warfare  with  the 
Goths  and  other  barbarian  people  who  were  at  this  time 
increasing  in  their  power  and  desire  to  obtain  the  country, 


INTRODUCTORY  235 

and  who  attacked  Rome  over  and  over  again,  removed  his 
Court  from  the  Eternal  City  to  Ravenna  and  made  that  his 
capital,  and,  sheltered  behind  its  malarious  plains  and  its 
watery  flats,  lived  in  a  greater  security  than  he  had  done  in 
Rome.  Here  was  the  seat  of  the  Roman  power  during,  not 
only  his  reign,  but  that  of  his  son  Valentinian  III.,Majorian, 
and  others  (Emperors  only  in  name)  who  succeeded  him. 

In  475  after  the  death  of  the  last  of  these  nine  puppet 
Emperors,  Romulus  Augustulus,  there  was  a  barbarian  ruler 
in  the  person  of  Odoacer,  and  he  held  his  court  at  Ravenna, 
as  by  that  time  Rome  had  been  sacked  by  the  Vandals,  and 
the  last  important  link  that  bound  together  the  two  empires 
had  been  broken. 

Then  a  new  power  came  into  play,  that  of  the  Ostrogoths, 
and  Ravenna  was  besieged  by  Theodoric,  the  king  of  the 
Ostrogoths,  who  had  invaded  Italy.  For  three  years  he 
attacked  Ravenna,  and  at  last  by  a  blockade  forced  Odoacer 
to  surrender  the  city,  and  slew  him. 

Theodoric  reigned  in  Ravenna  for  thirty-three  years, 
and  to  him  many  of  the  greatest  buildings  in  the  place 
owe  their  existence.  Here  he  was  buried,  and  here  his 
tomb  (despoiled  of  its  contents)  still  remains  a  monument 
to  the  devotion  of  his  daughter  Amalasuntha,  who  was 
murdered  a  few  years  after  her  father's  death. 
Once  again  came  a  change  of  scene. 

The  death  of  Theodoric,  who  was  a  strong  ruler,  was 
followed  by  the  accession  of  successors  who  were  weak 
and  unable  to  hold  together  the  united  Gothic  kingdom 
which  Theodoric  had  by  his  own  prowess  and  skill  brought 
into  existence. 

A  powerful  monarch  was  now  on  the  throne  of  the 
Eastern  Empire,  reigning  at  Constantinople  in  the  person 
of  Justinian,  and  he  desired  once  again  to  unite  Italy  to 
his  dominions.  His  great  general,  Belisarius,  went  forward 
with  a  powerful  army,  and  in  536  regained  Rome.  The 
Goths  made  a  strong  attempt  to  retake  it,  but  were  beaten 
off,  and  retreated  to  the  powerfiil  stronghold  of  Ravenna, 


236  RA  VENN  A 

whither  Belisarius  promptly  followed  them.  Here  he  found 
there  was  disaffection,  and  a  strong  sense  of  dissatisfaction 
with  the  Gothic  king,  Vitigis,  \\  ho  had  allowed  himself  to  be 
overcome.  Belisarius  attacked  Ravenna,  and  by  the  help 
of  those  who  were  disaffected  was  enabled  to  enter  the 
place  and  take  it.  The  Goths  thought  that  he  would,  with 
the  capture  of  Ravenna,  himself  assume  the  chief  power  in 
Italy,  but  he  was  true  to  the  Emperor  who  had  sent  him, 
and  once  again  was  Ravenna  united  with  the  Roman  Empire. 
Amalasuntha  had,  soon  after  the  death  of  Theodoric,  placed 
herself  and  her  kingdom  under  the  protection  of  Byzantium, 
but  now  the  union  was  completed. 

Then  for  a  couple  of  hundred  years  Ravenna  remained 
united  to,  or  dependent  upon,  the  Empire,  which  ruled 
from  Constantinople,  and  was  governed  by  a  series  of 
exarchs,  commencing  with  Narses,  who  was  the  successor 
of  Belisarius. 

In  728  a  fresh  ruler  came  upon  the  scene,  as  the  city 
was  taken  by  the  Lombard  king,  Luitprand,  whose  name 
we  have  seen  on  the  font  in  the  Atrio  di  Pilato  in  San 
Stefano  in  Bologna. 

He  captured  first  the  city  of  Classis,  which  was  still  the 
port  of  the  city,  and  then  marched  against  Ravenna  and 
took  it.  His  successor,  Aistulf,  reigned  in  Ravenna,  and 
then  he  in  his  turn  was  driven  out  by  the  Franks  under 
Pepin,  and  then  the  city  was  given  over  by  his  successor, 
Charlemagne,  to  the  Holy  See,  and  became  the  initial 
portion  of  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter. 

Charlemagne  visited  Ravenna,  carried  off  from  it  a  brazen 
statue  of  Theodoric  and  the  marble  columns  of  his  palace, 
and  decided  to  build  the  new  cathedral  which  he  was 
erecting  at  Aix  la  Chapelle  on  the  model  of  San  Vitale 
in  Ravenna. 

From  his  time,  with  certain  inFervals,  Ravenna  remained 
attached  to  the  Holy  See.  The  intervals  were  during  the 
thirteenth,    fourteenth,    and    fifteenth    centuries.       In    the 


INTRODUCTORY  237 

thirteenth  century  for  a  time  a  certain  Pietro  assumed  the 
dignity  of  Duke  of  Ravenna,  and  his  son  followed  him  in 
the  titular  dukedom.  Then  the  Emperor  Frederick  II. 
came  against  Ravenna,  and,  driving  out  the  dukes,  held 
it  for  a  time  ;  but  in  his  turn  he  was  driven  back  by  the 
forces  of  the  Pope,  and  Innocent  IV.  attached  the  place 
once  more  to  his  possessions.  In  1275  another  change  of 
a  temporary  character  took  place  as  an  important  local 
family,  the  Polentani,  came  to  eminence  and  position,  and 
ruled  Ravenna,  nominally  in  the  name  of  the  Pope,  ostensibly 
as  a  republic,  but  actually  as  a  kingdom  of  their  own. 
Their  rule  did  not  last  for  a  great  while,  and  then  the 
citizens,  finding  that  the  Papacy  had  other  matters  in  hand 
that  were  occupying  attention,  placed  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  Venice  in  1441,  and  were  well  and  wisely  ruled 
by  the  great  RepubHc  for  some  sixty  years.  Again  in  1509 
Ravenna  was  given  back  to  the  warrior  Pope,  Julius  II., 
by  the  Republic  of  Venice,  which  was  unable  to  hold  it 
any  longer,  and  once  again  Ravenna  had  its  old  rulers. 

But  three  years  after  this  event  the  neighbourhood  was 
the  scene  of  a  great  battle  when  Louis  XII.  with  his  forces, 
under  the  command  of  Gaston  de  Foix,  attacked  Ravenna, 
and  in  15 13  was  fought  the  battle  of  Ravenna,  at  which 
Gaston  de  Foix  was  killed,  and  which  gave  the  victory  to 
the  French,  although  their  terrible  losses  at  the  hands  of  the 
Papal  and  Spanish  forces  did  not  permit  them  to  follow  up 
the  victory. 

This  was  practically  the  last  event  of  importance  that  was 
a  part  of  the  history  of  Ravenna,  and  from  that  time  it 
remained  down  to  that  of  our  own  as  an  important  city, 
sometimes  the  chief  and  at  other  times  the  second  in  import- 
ance in  the  state  of  Romagna.  It  has  thus  had  a  very 
eventful  and  moving  history.  Its  strong  position  at  the  mouth 
of  its  river  and  surrounded  by  vast  watery  plains,  and  with 
the  sea  up  to  its  very  doors,  and,  gradually  leaving  it, 
converting  its  shallow  part  into  a  morass  and  then  into  an 
unhealthy  flat  land,  has  been  its  strength  ;  while  the  difficulty 
of  approaching  it  and  its  out-of-the-way  position  has  enabled 


238  RA  VENNA 

it  to  retain  and  preserve  the  monuments  in  which  it  is  so 
rich  and  which  relate  so  exchisively  to  its  very  early  history. 
It  is  Gothic,  Ostrogothic,  and  Byzantine  history  that  we 
can  learn  in  Ravenna,  as  of  its  later  history  little  remains  ; 
but  in  Gothic  and  Byzantine  monuments,  no  other  town  is 
so  rich  and  no  other  place  can  so  perfectly  set  forth  the  art 
and  craft  of  that  period. 


B.  THE   CHURCHES   AND   MOSAICS   OF 
RAVENNA 

The  oldest  buildings  in  Ravenna  are  the  Baptistery, 
that  stands  close  to  the  Cathedral  and  is  also  called  San 
Giovanni-in-Monte  ;  the  Chapel  of  the  Archbishop,  which 
is  in  the  rear  of  the  Cathedral,  and  the  Cathedral  itself 

To  these  it  is  well  that  we  should  first  address  ourselves. 

They  all  stand  within  five  minutes'  walk  of  the  Hotel  Byron, 
to  which  all  visitors  go,  and  we  will  commence  our  inspection 
with  the  **  Baptistery,  which  is  in  its  way  one  of  the  most 
lovely  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  buildings  which 
the  city  will  have  to  show  us. 

It  is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  the  good  Archbishop 
of  the  See,  Neon,  in  the  late  fourth  century,  and  ornamented 
by  his  successor,  some  fifty  years  after  its  erection.  It  is  a 
very  simple,  plain  building  of  octagonal  form,  with  the  plainest 
of  brickwork  decoration  upon  it,  and  a  delightful  tent-shaped 
roof  of  red  tiles. 

Inside  it  is  a  perfect  glow  of  colour  and  glorious  decora- 
tion. The  mosaics  of  Bishops  Neon  and  Maximian  still 
gleam  as  brilliantly  as  they  did  when  first  erected,  and  as  a 
composition  the  whole  scheme  is  wonderfully  fine. 

In  the  centre  of  the  dome  is  a  representation  of  the 
Baptism,  with  the  name  of  the  River  Jordan  clearly  marked, 
and  then  around  this  central  circle  is  a  still  larger  one  with 
the  Twelve  Apostles,  each  bearing  a  crown  and  having  his 
name  near  by. 

These    twelve    figures    are   of    surpassing    dignity,    and 


THE    CHURCHES  AND   MOSAICS  239 

appear  to  move  round  this  dome  with  a  swing  and  grace 
that  is  very  remarkable.  They  are  rather  tall  and  not  so 
well  proportioned  as  other  mosaic  figures  which  we  shall 
see  hereafter,  but  they  are  wonderful  examples  of  such  early 
work,  and  are  specially  interesting,  inasmuch  as  they  have 
never  been  restored  and  are  in  the  condition  in  which  their 
makers  left  them. 

Below  them  is  yet  another  circle  of  mosaic  decoration  also 
untouched,  and  representing  the  four  books  of  the  Gospels, 
open  upon  four  altars,  and  between  them  four  thrones  of 
dominion  with  crosses.  Around  the  Baptistery  are  eight 
columns,  and  from  them  rise  spandrils  which  are  covered 
with  mosaics  of  gold  wreaths  on  a  blue  ground  of  grand 
eflfect,  and  between  them,  on  oval  backgrounds  of  gold,  are 
eight  prophets  draped  in  white  garments. 

Above  them  rises  another  colonnade,  composed  of  eight 
arches,  each  subdivided  into  three  more,  the  central  one 
of  which  contains  a  window  and  the  two  side  ones  figures 
in  relief,  which  are  probably  made  in  a  species  of  plaster- 
work. 

From  the  tops  of  these  eight  large  subdivided  arches  starts 
the  band  of  mosaic  work  that  contains  the  thrones  and 
altars. 

The  mosaics  on  the  arches  that  rise  from  the  eight  marble 
columns  have  been  restored  in  1897  and  1898  by  the 
authorities  in  Florence,  and  therefore  on/y  the  design  and 
character  of  this  work  is  genuine,  but  all  the  rest  is  untouched 
and  the  whole  effect  of  this  brilliant,  sumptuous  decoration 
is  very  wonderful. 

There  are  four  inscriptions  around  the  Baptistery  in 
mosaic  relating  to  Baptism,  and  between  some  of  the  arches 
are  set  fine  examples  of  porphyry  and  marble  arranged  in 
geometric  pattern.  In  the  centre  is  the  huge  font,  which 
was  intended  for  Baptism  by  immersion,  and  to  which  is 
attached  a  curved  ambo  or  pulpit  in  which  the  officiating 
priest  would  stand.  The  font  is  of  white  marble  and  has 
slabs  of  fine  porphyry. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  building  is  considerably  below 


240  RA  VENN  A 

the  level  on  which  it  was  first  erected,  and  the  bases  of  the 
columns  are  to  be  found  covered  by  the  floor,  which  has 
been  raised.  This  is  a  feature  of  buildings  in  Ravenna 
which  will  be  constantly  noticed,  and  is  the  result  of  the 
character  of  the  soil,  which  is  marshy  and  wet.  This  par- 
ticular building  is  several  feet  below  its  right  level  and  is 
still  falling. 

On  its  roof  is  to  be  seen,  at  the  very  apex,  a  metal  cross 
bearing  the  following  inscription,  which  records  its  erection 
by  Archbishop  Theodoras  in  the  later  part  of  the  seventh 
century:  "DEDONIS  DEI  ET  SCE  MARIE.  F.  F. 
LERVNT  TEMPORIBVS  DN  THEODORO  APOS- 
TOLIC VM." 

Near  to  the  door  can  be  traced  the  monogram  of  Bishop 
Neon. 


We  will  now  cross  the  road  and  enter  the  **  Cathedral, 
which  in  its  foundation  is  as  old  as  the  Baptistery,  but  has 
been  so  entirely  altered  and  rebuilt  that  nothing  of  the 
exterior  save  the  detached  Campanile  remains  of  the 
original  building.  The  interest  of  this  building  consists  in 
what  it  contains,  notably  in  the  sacristy  the  **  ivory  chair 
of  St.  Maximianus,  which  was  made  in  the  early  part  of 
the  sixth  century,  and  save  for  its  being  carried  away  to 
Venice  in  looi  has  been  in  this  church  ever  since  it  was 
first  made.  It  was  certainly  made  by  Orient  craftsmen,  and 
has  in  the  front  the  monogram  of  Maxijiiiajius  Episcopus, 
and  around  it  fine  delicate  carvings  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 
in  front,  the  Evangelists  on  the  right  and  left,  and  the 
history  of  Joseph  at  the  sides,  and  the  miracles  of  Christ 
at  the  back. 

Some  of  the  panels  are  missing,  and  are  replaced  by  poor 
copies,  one  of  the  missing  panels  is  in  Milan,  and  another 
in  Rome,  others  are  in  Naples  and  in  Pesaro,  but  it  is 
not  known  what  has  become  of  the  rest  of  them. 

The  carving  is  clear  and  well  defined  and  full  of  character, 
and  the  panels  are  surrounded  with  delightful  arabesque 


THE   CHURCHES  AND   MOSAICS  24T 

decoration  of  an  excellent  character.  This  chair  is  one  of 
the  great  treasures  of  Europe,  of  exceptional  interest,  and 
should  be  carefully  examined.  Have  it  turned  round  so 
that  you  can  see  it  well  and  appreciate  its  delightful  work. 
The  scenes  of  Joseph  in  Prison  and  In  the  House  of  Poti- 
phar's  Wife,  are  especially  quaint  and  interesting.  Mark 
the  peacocks  in  the  border,  and  the  excellent  manner  in 
which  all  the  carving  is  undercut. 

In  the  same  sacristy  are  preserved  the  exquisite  cope  which 
belongs  to  San  Giovanni  Angeloptes,  who  was  Archbishop 
of  Ravenna  in  the  fifth  century,  and  which  was  remounted 
in  the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  and  is  of  great  beauty. 
The  griffins  and  lambs  on  the  cross  of  cloth  of  gold  are 
delightful. 

There  is  also  to  be  seen  the  altar-cross  of  Sant'  Agnello, 
archbishop  in  the  sixth  century,  which  is  of  silver  and 
enamel,  but  it  was  altered  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
only  a  part  of  what  one  can  now  see  belongs  to  its  very 
early  history. 

Leaving  the  sacristy  we  shall  find  a  more  important  relic 
of  this  archbishop  standing  close  to  the  high  altar,  in  the 
ancient  processional  cross  of  silver.  This  bears  upon 
it  in  relief  the  Crucifixion,  God  the  Eternal  Father,  the 
Madonna,  St.  John,  and  St.  Mary  Magdalen  on  one  side, 
and  on  the  other,  St.  Apollonia,  and  the  symbols  of  the 
Evangelists,  with  an  inscription  recording  that  the  name  of 
the  engraver  who  decorated  the  ancient  cross  with  these  later 
reliefs  in  1366  was  Andrea. 

Behind  the  altar  will  be  found,  fastened  into  the  wall,  two 
curved  pieces  of  marble,  which  were,  as  the  inscription  upon 
them  tells  us,  part  of  the  ancient  ambo  or  chair  used  by  Sant' 
Agnello  in  the  original  Cathedral,  in  the  sixth  century  ;  and 
also  some  pierced  marble  slabs  that  were  over  the  remains 
of  martyrs  in  the  Confession  of  the  original  Cathedral,  and 
which  date  back  to  the  same  remote  time. 

Then  there  are  four  splendid  stone  sarcophagi  to  be 
seen,  two  in  the  second  chapel  on  the  right,  in  which  were 
buried  Sf.  Exuperantius  and  St.  Maximianiis  (to  whom  the 

Q 


242  RA  VENN  A 

chair  belonged),  and  two  in  the  transept,  in  which  were 
buried  5/.  Barbatian^  the  confessor  of  Galla  Placidia,  and 
San  Rinaldus.  These  are  sixth-century  coffins,  having  upon 
them  the  bay  leaves  of  conquest  and  honour,  the  palms  of 
victory,  two  saints  bearing  their  coronals  as  an  offering  to 
Christ,  and  candles  with  the  Cross  and  the  Host  on  the  ends. 
We  shall  see  many  more  of  these  splendid  tombs  ere  we 
leave  Ravenna,  and  recognise  on  them  the  love  of  symbolism 
which  characterised  their  makers  and  the  period  in  which 
they  were  made,  and  which  was  the  method  of  teaching  that 
was  so  needful  in  those  early  days. 


Let  us  now  turn  round  to  the  back  of  the  Cathedral,  pass 
under  an  arch,  up  some  stairs,  and  enter  the  **Chapel  of 
the  Archbishop,  which  is  connected  with  the  Duomo. 

The  anteroom  through  which  we  pass  to  gain  the  chapel 
is  filled  with  ancient  Roman  remains  and  interesting  early 
Christian  inscriptions,  and  beyond  it  is  the  chapel. 

St.  Pier  Cristologo  was  archbishop  in  the  early  part  of  the 
fifth  century,  and  he  it  was  who  built  this  chapel  and  had 
it  decorated  in  mosaics,  and  his  monogram,  in  the  curious 
entwined  arrangement  that  is  so  often  to  be  seen  in  Ravenna, 
is  to  be  found  in  mosaic  in  an  arch  of  the  chapel,  and  is  com- 
posed of  all  the  letters  forming  the  word  Peirus. 

The  mosaics  in  the  ceiling  of  this  chapel  are  the  original 
ones  of  the  fifth  century,  and  have  only  been  repaired  in 
places  where  some  bits  of  the  work  have  dropped  out  by 
reason  of  the  damp. 

There  are  four  glorious  angels,  and  opposite  to  them  the 
four  symbols  of  the  Evangelists,  then  there  are  two  repre- 
sentations of  the  Christ  with  the  Twelve  Apostles,  six  on 
either  side,  and  it  should  here  be  noted  as  a  curious  fact, 
that  in  these  early  Ravennese  mosaics,  the  Apostle  St.  Paul 
is  included  with  the  twelve.  The  names  are  easily  seen  to 
be  SS.  John,  James,  Peter,  Andrew,  Philip,  Bartholomew, 
Matthew,  Thomas,  James  (the  less),  Thaddeus,  Simon 
(Zelotes),  and  Paul,  omitting  Judas  and  Matthias. 


THE   CHURCHES   AND   MOSAICS  243 

Then  on  the  right  are  six  male  saints,  Damian,  Fabian, 
Sebastian,  Chrysanthus,  Chrysologus,  and  Cassianus,  and  on 
the  left  six  female  saints,  Cecilia,  Eugenia,  Eufemia,  Felicitas, 
Perpetua,  and  Daria,  with  the  sacred  symbol  between  each 
three.  The  reason  of  the  introduction  of  San  Cassiano,  was 
that  he  was  the  patron  and  protector  of  Imola,  the  good 
bishop's  native  place,  and  that  consequently,  San  Pier 
Cristologo  had  a  peculiar  devotion  for  that  saint. 

The  faces  are  full  of  calm  dignity,  those  of  the  Christ 
especially,  and  on  the  drapery  are  the  words,  "EGO  SVM 
VIA  VERITAS  ET  VITA." 

The  ceiling  has  upon  it  crosses  and  birds,  and  the  whole 
decoration  is  wonderful  in  beauty  and  effect. 

Behind  the  a/iar  are  other  mosaics  of  the  Madonna  in 
the  centre,  inscribed  "  SCA  MARIA,"  and  two  saints,  one  on 
either  side,  San  Vitalis  and  Sant'  Apollinaris.  These  are 
much  later  mosaics,  belonging  to  the  twelfth  century,  and 
were  originally  in  the  Cathedral,  whence  they  were  brought 
to  this  chapel  in  1796. 

The  frescoes,  which  are  by  Luca  Longhi,  are  of  no  import- 
ance. To  those  who  are  interested  in  manuscripts  it  may 
be  well  to  mention  that  on  the  floor  above  there  is  a  small 
but  very  choice  library  of  MSS.  and  papyri,  but  it  is  not 
well  for  any  save  experts  to  trouble  to  visit  it,  especially  if 
you  are  pressed  at  all  for  time. 

The  pavement  of  the  chapel  is  worth  notice,  as  it  is  com- 
posed of  that  charming  mingling  of  marble  and  porphyry 
that  is  known  as  "  Opus  Alexandrinum  "  and  which  was  so 
popular  at  this  period. 

In  pursuit  of  our  chronological  arrangement,  it  will  be 
well  for  us  when  we  finally  leave  this  group  of  fascinating 
buildings  to  go  to  the  north  of  the  city  into  the  Via  San 
Vitale,  and  without  entering  into  this  fine  church  yet,  pass 
it  by  and  go  into  the  **Tomb  of  the  Empress  Galla 
Placidia,  which  lies  behind  it,  and  is  also  called  the  Church 
of  San  Nazaro  e  Celso. 

I   must   warn   you,   however,   that   the   mosaics   in   this 


244  ^-^  VENN  A 

interesting  place  are  being  restored,  and  that  the  building 
itself  has  been  so  restored  and  repaired  as  to  present  quite 
a  fresh  appearance,  so  that  but  little  can  be  seen  of  the 
original  edifice. 

It  is  called  "a  well-preserved  monument,"  and  un- 
doubtedly in  some  ways  that  is  so,  as  the  original  idea  of 
the  place,  its  plan,  its  arrangement,  can  all  be  seen  exactly 
as  they  have  always  been  ;  but  the  "  rifascimento  "  to  which 
it  has  been  exposed  has  taken  away  from  the  structure  that 
feeling  of  antiquity  that  is  so  needful  in  order  that  the  right 
impression  may  be  made  by  a  building. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  repair  of  the  mosaics  only  those 
portions  that  have  dropped  out  are  being  supplied  new,  but 
it  is  more  than  that,  as  tessera:  are  being  used  in  the  new 
work  that  are  of  a  kind  which  the  old  mosaicists  never  used, 
and  the  colours  are  of  a  different  tone  from  the  old  ones, 
and  the  work  is  more  rigid,  exact,  and  true  than  was  the  old, 
and  so  much  the  more  mechanical.  Even  if  it  were  not  so, 
new  work  can  never  be  the  same  as  old.  It  is  a  copy  of 
what  has  preceded  it.  It  is  not  the  original  creation  of  the 
artist's  mind,  and  although  it  is  very  difficult  for  us  in 
England  to  fully  appreciate  the  desire  of  the  Ravennese  to 
repair  the  destruction  caused  by  the  damp,  yet  it  seems 
better  to  us  to  allow  the  damage  to  be  seen  and  recognised 
than  to  spend  great  sums  in  making  it  up,  and  so  taking 
away  from  the  entire  scheme  that  charm  of  untouched  anti- 
quity that  it  possessed  for  so  long  a  period.  The  constant 
visits  of  tourists  to  Ravenna  have  not  done  the  place  any 
good,  and  now  the  work  of  renovation  is  going  on  in  the 
city  at  so  great  a  rate  that  soon  there  will  be  little  left  that 
has  not  been  restored.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  past 
these  monuments  have  suffered  much,  and  that  they  will  be 
glorious  in  the  future,  brave  with  fine  marble  and  mosaic, 
but  they  will  be  copies  of  what  has  been  rather  than  grand 
and  impressive  originals  ;  and  where  it  is  difficult  if  not 
impossible  to  tell  what  has  been  repaired  and  what  has  not, 
the  whole  work  is  likely  to  suffer  in  public  estimation,  and 
I  think  rightly  so. 


THE    CHURCHES  AND   MOSAICS  245 

Outside,  the  tomb  has  been  scraped  and  done  up,  inside 
the  walls  remain  very  much  as  they  were  as  far  as  the 
springing  of  the  arches,  but  the  workmen  are  now  covering 
up  the  bare  walls  with  slabs  of  Siena  marble,  restoring,  as 
they  inform  you,  the  walls  to  what  was  their  original  con- 
dition of  beauty.  The  cupola  is  covered  entirely  with  mosaic 
which  was  a  few  years  ago  untouched,  but  is  now  being 
"  touched  up,"  as  it  is  called,  and  mingled  with  the  old  work 
is  modern  mosaic,  which  is  brilliant  and  showy. 

The  designs  certainly  are  the  old  ones  and  are  very  fine, 
and  ?jiuc/t  of  the  mosaic  is  old.  In  the  dome  is  a  cross  in 
the  centre  upon  a  ground  of  blue  stars,  and  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  dome  are  the  symbols  of  the  Evangelists 
grandly  presented.  Over  the  door  is  Christ  as  "  The  Good 
Shepherd,"  and  opposite  to  it,  behind  the  altar  (which  at 
this  moment  is  put  away  in  San  Vitale  while  the  work  is 
going  on),  is  another  representation  of  Our  Lord  casting 
heretical  books  into  a  fire,  so  contrasting  two  of  the  main 
elements  of  faith — that  of  love  for  the  sheep  and  that  of 
condemnation  of  error.  Around  are  figures  of  the  prophets 
or  apostles,  probably  the  latter.  The  influence  of  classic 
art  is  very  clearly  to  be  seen  especially  in  the  two  doves 
drinking  from  the  vase  which  is  a  thoroughly  classical  device, 
and  also  in  the  stags  at  a  fountain,  and  in  the  arabesque 
decoration  of  the  ornaments  around  the  arches  and  within 
their  vaults.  The  little  chapel  is  a  wonderful  glow  of  colour, 
and  with  all  its  restoration,  we  must  be  thankful  that  so 
fine  an  example  is  left  of  the  work  of  the  mosaicist.  We 
can  feel  the  influence  of  the  Oriental  love  of  colour,  im- 
planted upon  the  classical  ideas  of  fine  design,  and  in  its 
deep  jewel-like  blue,  its  solemn  dull  red,  its  gold  circles,  its 
masses  of  pure  unearthly  white,  it  seems  to  shine  as  with 
the  fierceness  of  fire,  and  the  light  travels  over  its  broken 
surface  revealing  new  charms  with  every  fresh  position. 
It  is  but  a  tiny  chapel,  but  it  contains,  besides  its  mosaics, 
the  tombs  of  two  Caesars,  the  only  ones  which  now  stand 
in  the  position  in  which  they  were  originally  placed  of  all 
that  long  line  of  rulers  ;  and  at  the  end,  near  to  the  stone 


246  RA  VENN  A 

sarcophagi  of  Honorins  II.  and  Constantius  11,  is  the 
Tomb  of  Galla  Placidia  herself,  who  built  the  chapel.  She 
used  to  be  herself  resting  within  that  tomb,  and  there  for 
eleven  hundred  years  she  sat,  robed  in  state,  and  wearing  her 
crown,  but  as  the  Renaissance  crept  into  Italy,  she,  emblem 
of  an  earlier  art,  perished  through  the  carelessness  of  some 
children,  who  in  1577  introduced  a  lighted  candle  into  her 
tomb,  through  the  hole  that  may  yet  be  seen  at  the  side, 
and  in  a  moment  everything  was  consumed — Empress,  robes, 
cypress  wood  chair,  and  all.  Now  there  only  remains  the 
huge  stone  sarcophagus,  those  of  the  two  Emperors  and  two 
others,  one  of  which  has  the  bones  of  young  Honoria, 
daughter  of  Galla  Placidia. 

Ravenna  owes  other  buildings  to  the  genius  of  Galla 
Placidia,  vvho  was  sister  to  Honorius,  and  who,  having 
been  the  wife  of  the  Gothic  king,  had  as  her  second 
husband,  Constantius  III.,  and  whose  son  became  Valen- 
tinian  III. 

She  founded  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni  Evangelista 
in  420,  out  of  gratitude  for  preservation  during  a  storm 
on  the  voyage  to  her  capital,  Ravenna,  when  she  was 
coming  from  Byzantium,  but  beyond  some  fragments  to  be 
found  in  a  chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Bartolomeo,  there  is 
nothing  of  the  church  of  her  period  to  be  seen. 

The  relief  over  the  door  of  St.  Giovanni  Evangelista, 
which  commemorates  the  vow,  is  of  thirteenth  or  fourteenth 
century  date,  but  contains  in  it  a  part,  although  small,  of  the 
far  older  stone  which  may  have  been  contemporary  with  the 
church.  Inside  on  the  left  of  the  entrance  in  the  corner  is 
an  ancient  marble  chair,  which  belonged  to  the  Abbot 
Benevento,  of  1267,  and  near  to  which  is  a  curious  terra- 
cotta group  of  the  Madonna  and  Child  with  angels,  belong- 
ing to  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  marbles  in  this  church  and  in  the  one  of  San 
Giovanni  Battista  in  the  Via  Girolamo  Rossi,  which  Galla 
Placidia  erected  for  her  Confessor,  St.  Barbatian,  whose 
sarcophagus  we  saw  in   the  Duomo,  are  of  great  beauty, 


THE   CHURCHES  AND   MOSAICS  247 

especially  some  of  verde  antico,  which  are  at  the  altar  of 
this  latter  church.  The  Campanile  of  San  Giovanni  Battista 
should  also  be  noticed,  as  it  is  an  ancient  one  and  belongs 
to  the  original  church,  but  the  interior  of  the  church  has 
been  so  modernised  as  to  be  hardly  worth  attention,  and  it 
is  in  fact  only  the  Campanile  outside  and  the  marbles 
inside  that  make  it  worth  attention. 

Galla  Placidia  built  also  Santa  Croce,  which  stands  close 
to  her  tomb,  and  in  which  she  worshipped,  but  which  is 
now  not  worth  visiting,  and  its  Campanile  alone  stands  to 
recall  its  founder,  and  then  her  medals  and  coins  can  be 
seen  in  the  Museum,  as  she  held  Imperial  power  for  a  while 
and  exercised  a  very  real  and  determined  sovereignty  over 
her  people  in  Ravenna. 

The  Church  of  *San  Francesco,  which  stands  close  to  the 
hotel,  is  another  building  well  worth  notice,  and  if  evidence 
is  needed  as  to  the  soil  on  which  Ravenna  stands  and  of  the 
imminent  danger  that  threatens  some  of  the  buildings  in  the 
city,  let  me  recommend  you  to  look  down  into  the  crypt  under 
this  fine  church,  which  will  be  found  actually  full  of  water. 

The  sights  of  this  church  are  not  many,  the  chief  per- 
haps being  the  tomb  of  San  Liberio,  which  is  the  altar  of 
the  chapel  at  the  extremity  of  the  right  aisle,  and  which  is 
a  sculptured  sarcophagus  of  the  late  fourth  century.  It  is 
still  used  as  it  has  always  been,  so  conservative  is  the 
Church  in  Ravenna,  and  on  the  altar  the  Mass  is  said  in  the 
same  fashion  in  the  twentieth  century  as  it  was  when  first 
the  saint  was  buried  there,  and  with  the  same  words. 

The  slab  of  dark  red  Verona  marble  that  is  upon  the 
floor  close  to  the  entrance  door,  dated  1331,  seems  quite 
modern  beside  the  other  treasures  of  the  place.  It  com- 
memorates a  Lord  of  Ravenna,  one  Ostasio  Polenta,  who, 
being  a  tertiary  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  was  buried  in  the 
habit  of  the  Order,  and  is  so  represented  on  his  tomb.  His 
face  is  worth  attention  ;  it  is  a  very  fine  piece  of  sculpture. 
The  name  of  that  family  will  always  be  remembered  in 
connection  with  their  kindness  to  Dante  and  also  for  the 


248  RA  VENN  A 

fact  that  Francesca  da  Rimini  was  the  daughter  of  Guido 
da  Polenta  and  a  descendant  of  this  Ostasio. 

The  General  of  the  Order,  who  died  in  Ravenna  of  fever 
in  1405,  is  buried  on  the  left  of  the  church,  and  a  similar 
slab  of  marble  covers  his  tomb.  He  was  over  ninety  years 
of  age,  as  the  inscription  states,  and  yet  it  says  that  his 
death  was  very  unexpected,  and  he  himself  anticipated  a 
much  longer  life  I 

All  the  marble  in  this  church  is  worth  notice,  especially 
the  two  lovely  columns  at  the  chapel  of  the  Cross,  the 
second  on  the  right.  San  Francesco  is  a  very  popular 
church  in  Ravenna,  and  will  be  found  thronged  with  people 
at  the  early  masses,  and  engaging  the  attention  of  numerous 
priests  ;  and  on  the  great  festivals  of  the  saint,  notably  on 
1st  and  2nd  of  August  the  church  is  almost  inaccessible 
by  reason  of  the  people  who  crowd  it  for  the  "  Perdono  di 
San  Francesco." 

The  Church  of  Sant'  Agata  in  the  Via  Mazzini  dates 
from  about  the  same  period,  having  been  erected  by  Bishop 
Exuperantius  in  the  fifth  century,  and  bearing  his  monogram 
cut  into  the  second  column  on  the  left.  The  similar  mono- 
grams of  two  other  archbishops,  Sergio  and  Agnello,  can  be 
seen  in  the  archway  of  the  altar  in  the  nave  to  the  right.  Both 
of  these  saints  are  buried  beneath  the  altar.  The  pulpit  is 
from  a  pagan  building  and  appears  to  have  been  cut  from  a 
piece  of  a  marble  column.  It  was,  it  is  said,  discovered  in 
the  ground  close  by  the  church  at  the  time  of  the  erection 
of  the  building. 

This  church  is  principally  notable  for  the  beauty  of  the 
marbles  that  it  contains,  and  which  comprises  dz£^w  anh'co, 
cipollmo,  porphyry^  granite,  and  several  fine  Greek  marbles, 
and  the  capitals  of  the  columns  are  also  well  worth  attention, 
and  some  of  them  are  of  considerable  importance. 

We  must  pass  on,  however,  to  another  period  of  the  history 
of  the  town,  and  see  what  there  is  that  recalls  the  Ostrogoths 
and  their  Emperor  Theodoric  in  Ravenna. 


THE    TIME    OF   THEODORIC  249 

C.    THE   TIME   OF   THEODORIC   IN 
RAVENNA 

Of  the  *Palace  in  which  Theodoric  once  dwelt  there  is 
but  httle  to  be  seen.  The  ruined  walls,  for  they  are  no 
more,  are  close  to  the  Hotel  Byron  in  the  Corso  Garibaldi, 
straight  up  from  the  hotel.  There  is  only  left  a  great  mas- 
sive wall  with  some  marble  columns,  eight  above  and  two 
below,  supporting  the  brick-work,  and  some  crumbling  walls 
and  remains  of  arches  and  windows  behind  it.  All  that 
was  good  was  carried  away  by  Charlemagne  when  he 
visited  Ravenna,  and  all  the  fine  marble  columns  (in  this 
city  of  fine  and  rare  marbles)  were  taken  off  and  dragged 
away  across  Italy  to  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  placed  in  the  new 
cathedral  which  Charles  the  Great  was  erecting,  and  which 
now  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  buildings  in  Germany, 
and  the  only  one  that  has  to  do  with  the  period  which  can 
be  studied  in  Ravenna.  Marble  and  mosaics,  porphyry  and 
bronze,  carved  stone,  ivory  and  silver  work,  all  were  carried 
away  to  Aachen,  and  nothing  now  remains  since  the  eighth 
century,  when  Charlemagne  came  to  Ravenna,  to  tell  us  of 
the  home  of  Theodoric  than  these  bare  walls,  and  a  porphyry 
bath  that  \Ve  shall  see  in  the  museum. 

Of  the  work  of  Theodoric  there  is  much  evidence  remain- 
ing, and  it  is  of  a  splendid  character. 

A  dozen  yards  from  the  Palace  stands  the  **Cathedral 
which  Theodoric  built  for  his  Arian  bishops. 

The  very  mention  of  this  great  heresy  shows  how  strangely 
Ravenna  has  seemed  to  crystallise  around  itself  events  and 
controversies  that  the  rest  of  Europe  has  forgotten. 

The  whole  nation  of  the  Ostrogoths  was  Arian  in  its 
belief.  Arius  had  long  been  dead,  the  Councils  of  Nicasa 
and  of  Constantinople  had  been  held,  and  had  pronounced 
against  his  heresy.  Athanasius  had  fulminated  his  thunders 
against  it,  and  the  Nicene  doctrine  had  been  confirmed,  and 
within  the  Church  the  heresy  could  no  longer  be  said  to 


250  RA  VENN  A 

exist  ;  but  it  rested  longer  outside  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
now  that  the  influence  of  Theodoric  became  the  paramount 
power  in  Ravenna,  Arianism  began  to  raise  up  its  head. 

Theodoric  was  but  thirty-three  years  master  of  Ravenna, 
and  therefore  his  Cathedral  was  consecrated  very  soon  after 
its  erection  by  Sant'  Agnello  the  Archbishop,  for  Catholic 
uses,  but  it  and  the  Baptistery,  which  we  shall  shortly  visit, 
were  originally  erected  for  Arians  to  use. 

The  Cathedral  which  we  are  about  to  enter  is  called 
Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo,  but  originally  it  was  dedicated  to 
San  Martino,  and  we  shall  soon  have  proof  of  that  fact. 
It  was  "new"  more  than  a  thousand  year  ago  !  In  its  time 
the  bones  of  the  saint  whose  name  it  now  bears  rested  far 
away  in  Classis,  whence  they  were  removed  (or  said  to  have 
been  removed,  as  some  of  the  historians  state)  for  fear  of 
capture  by  the  Saracens  ;  and  now  they  rest  again,  according 
to  the  best  of  belief,  under  the  altar  of  the  church  at  Classis, 
in  whose  crypt  the  bones  were  first  laid. 

The  church  has,  however,  lost  its  older  name  and  retained 
its  later  one,  and  as  the  New  Sant'  Apollinare  we  shall 
visit  it.  It  is  bare  and  plain  on  the  outside,  with  a  simple 
dignified  Campanile,  but  in  the  interior  is  the  finest  in  all 
Ravenna. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  anything  more 
wonderful  in  the  way  of  decoration  or  more  beautiful  than 
the  long  line  of  saints  and  virgins  which  stretches  from 
end  to  end  of  the  church.  The  saints  are  headed  by  St. 
Martin,  and  move  forward  in  rhythmic  array  towards  Our 
Lord,  who  is  seated  on  a  throne  attended  with  angels,  at  the 
end  of  the  long  frieze  that  extends  over  the  arches.  There 
are,  after  St.  Martin,  SS.  Clement,  Sixtus,  Laurence,  Cyprian, 
Paul,  Vitalis,  Gervasius,  Protasius,  Hippolytus,  Cornelius, 
Cassianus,  John,  Ursinus,  Namor,  Felix,  Apollinaris,  Deme- 
trius, Polycarp,  Vincent  and  Pancras,  Chrysogonus,  Protus, 
Jovenius,  and  Sabinus,  names  which  recall  the  very  early 
church  and  some  of  the  sainted  bishops  of  this  very  see. 

Then  opposite  to  them  is  a  long  line  of  Virgins,  twenty-one 
in  number,  who  bear  crowns,  and  are  bringing  them  up  to 


THE   TIME   OF   THEODORTC  251 

Our  Lady  who,  in  similar  fashion  to  the  Christ  opposite,  is 
seated  on  a  throne  and  attended  by  angels. 

The  virgins  are  SS.  Eugenia,  Savina,  Christina,  Anatolia, 
Victor,  Paulina,  (?)  Daria,  Anastasia,  Justina,  Felicitas,  Per- 
petua,  Agnes  with  her  Lamb,  Vincentia,  Valeria,  Crispina, 
Lucia,  Cecilia,  Eulalia,  Agatha,  Pelagia,  and  Eufemia. 

At  the  opposite  ends  are,  on  the  side  with  the  virgins,  a 
representation  of  the  city  of  Classis  with  ships  and  the  sea, 
and  on  the  other  side,  with  the  procession  of  saints,  the 
Palace  of  Theodoric,  with  the  word  Palatium,  and  the  Church 
of  San  Vitale. 

The  procession  of  virgins  is  headed  by  the  Magi,  who  are 
hastening  forward  with  their  gifts. 

The  figures  of  Our  Lord  and  Our  Lady  are  very  similar 
in  style.  Christ  has  his  hand  upraised,  in  the  act  of  bene- 
diction, and  the  Virgin  bears  in  her  arms  the  Infant  Child. 
Both  are  seated  and  are  attended  by  four  angels,  grand 
stately  figures  in  white  draperies.  Above  these  long  pro- 
cessions are  windows,  and  between  them  tall  mosaic  figures 
of  Apostles  and  teachers,  and  then  abo\e  that  again  are  two 
long  series  of  scenes  from  the  Life  of  Christ  as  follows  :  The 
Cenacolo,  Mount  of  Olives,  Betrayal,  Denial,  Sanhedrim, 
Judgment  of  Herod,  Second  Denial,  Judas  and  the  Bag, 
Pilate,  Calvary,  the  Entombment,  the  Scene  at  Emmaus, 
Christ  in  the  Midst  of  His  Disciples  ;  and  then  on  the  other 
side  as  follows  :  The  Healing  of  the  Cripple,  the  Herd  of 
Swine,  the  Healing  of  the  Paralytic,  the  Parable  of  the 
Sheep  and  Goats,  the  Calling  of  St.  Matthew,  the  Pharisee 
and  the  Publican,  the  Raising  of  Lazarus,  the  Woman  of 
Samaria,  the  Woman  with  an  Issue  of  Blood,  the  Blind  Man 
Healed,  the  Draught  of  Fishes,  and  the  Feeding  of  the 
Multitude  (two  scenes). 

These  mosaics  have  been  from  time  to  time  repaired,  but 
a  most  careful  account  has  been  kept  of  all  that  has  been 
done,  and  a  large  drawing  of  the  entire  mosaic  has  been 
prepared  by  the  government  officials  in  which,  by  means  of 
different  colours,  every  piece  of  repair  is  noted  and  can  be 
distinguished. 


2  52  RA  VENN  A 

In  looking  at  this' important  record,  which  has  been  drawn 
with  the  utmost  skill,  and  from  close  examination  of  the 
mosaic  I  was  much  interested  to  notice  that  the  repair  and 
alteration  in  the  two  large  groups  of  the  Christ  and  the 
Madonna  have  been  very  few,  and  that  practically  that  part 
of  the  mosaic  remains  as  it  was  when  first  erected  by  Theo- 
doric  1 300  years  ago  1  The  heads  of  the  three  Magi,  part  of 
the  heads  of  two  of  the  angels  on  one  side,  a  portion  of 
the  draperies  of  two  of  the  angels  on  the  other  side,  and  a 
small  part  of  the  throne  are  all  the  portions  that  have  been 
restored,  so  that  this  triumphant  representation  of  the  Christ 
and  the  Madonna,  in  which  Our  Lady  is  enthroned  as  is  her 
Son,  and  in  which  she  is  given  the  Gospel  side  of  the  altar, 
stands  as  it  did,  when  erected  in  those  early  days,  and  shows 
the  teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries  with  an  absolutely  and  unerring  proof. 

Further  evidence  of  the  immense  antiquity  of  all  this 
work  is  to  be  marked  in  the  fact  that  the  Crucifixion  is  not 
included  at  all  in  the  scenes  depicted,  as  in  the  beginning 
of  the  history  of  the  Church  a  representation  of  this  dread 
event  was  never  given.  The  scenes  from  the  Life  of  Our 
Lord  above  the  windows  have  received  no  restoration  at 
all,  and  are  entirely  original.  The  whole  effect  of  this 
sumptuous  decoration  is  very  wonderful,  and  can  be  com- 
pared with  nothing  else  in  Northern  Italy  ;  and  even  at 
Monreale  or  in  Palermo,  where  other  superb  mosaic-work 
is  to  be  found,  nothing  will  be  found  so  dignified,  so  im- 
pressive as  these  sweeping  processions  of  saints  and  angels, 
and  the  grand  stately  figures  above  them,  and  the  biblical 
stories  so  quaintly  set  forth. 

The  church  is  worth  returning  to  again  and  again,  and 
if  it  is  visited  on  a  sunny  day,  the  glow  and  sheen  of  this 
mosaic  work  will  never  be  forgotten. 

The  pulpit  is  worth  notice  for  its  curious  early-Christian 
sculptures,  and  in  the  last  chapel  on  the  left  will  be 
found  a  sort  of  museum  which  contains  a  fine  portrait  of 
Justinian  in  mosaic,  the  tenth-century  marble  chair  of  the 
abbot  who  ruled  in  the  church,  a  perforated  screen  that 


THE    TIME   OF   THEODORIC  253 

originally  protected  the  remains  of  St.  Apollinaris  in  the 
Confession,  and  some  fine  examples  of  marble  and  por- 
phyry. 

When  we  leave  the  Church  of  Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo, 
it  will  be  well  for  us  to  visit  the  other  important  build- 
ings that  were  founded  at  the  same  time  by  Theodoric, 
e.g-.  the  Baptistery  of  the  Arians,  which  is  now  called 
Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,  and  the  Church  of  San  Spirito, 
called  also  San  Teodoro. 

They  are  close  together,  and  stand  in  a  small  street,  Via 
Paolo  Costa,  just  out  of  the  Corso  Garibaldi,  three  minutes' 
walk  from  the  church  that  we  have  just  left. 

There  is  nothing  special  to  be  seen  in  Santo  Spirito  save 
some  columns  of  fine  marble  which  have  curious  capitals 
bearing  Latin  crosses,  and  it  may  be  well  here  to  draw 
attention  to  the  marbles  that  are  to  be  found  all  over 
Ravenna  in  almost  every  church,  as  no  city  in  Italy  with 
the  exception  of  Rome  has  such  fine  examples  of  the 
rarer  *  *  marbles. 

There  is  a  little  book  called  "  The  Handbook  of  Ancient 
Roman  Marbles,"  by  H.  W.  PuUen  (Murray,  2s.  6d.)  which 
ought  to  be  in  the  hand  of  every  traveller  in  Italy,  and 
which  will  be  found  of  special  interest  in  Ravenna. 
Murray's  Handbook  names  many  of  the  rarer  marbles 
of  Ravenna,  such  as  the  eighteen  columns  of  /mezw, 
four  of  6i£^w  antico,  two  of  cipollino^  and  four  of  the  very 
rare  cipollino  rosso,  which  are  all  in  the  Duomo,  and  by 
the  aid  of  it  and  this  little  book  the  tourist  will  find  a  new 
interest  in  tracing  out  the  names  of  other  beautiful  marbles 
which  adorn  the  churches  of  Ravenna.  There  was  a  great 
demand  for  the  more  precious  marbles  in  these  churches, 
and  it  is  well  to  look  at  them,  as  generally  they  are  quite 
lovely  and  often  of  the  greatest  rarity. 

In  this  particular  church  in  which  we  now  are  there  are 
columns  of  bigio  antico  in  different  varieties,  lovely  grey 
marbles  with  blackish,  bluish,  and  smoky-grey  mottlings  ; 
but  besides  these  columns  the  only  special  thing  to  see  is 


254 


RA VENN A 


the  ancient  pulpit  in  the  fourth  chapel  on  the  /e/i,  which 
was  probably  an  a/ndo  rather  than  a  pulpit,  from  which  the 
Gospel  was  read. 

The  portico  rests  upon  three  columns,  of  which  two  are 
Istrian  marble,  and  the  other  from  Greece.  One  of  the 
inside  columns  is  of  that  lovely  marble  known  as  Verde 
Sanguigno,  which  is  a  green  serpentine  with  stains  of  blood 
red.  The  church  was  originally  dedicated  by  Theodoric  to 
his  patron  San  Teodorico,  but  in  the  time  of  Archbishop 
Sant'  Agnello  was  restored  to  the  Catholic  Church,  con- 
secrated, and  dedicated  to  Santo  Spirito. 

Opposite  to  it  is  the  Baptistery  which  belongs  to  it,  still 
called  the  Baptistery  of  the  Arians,  but  which  also  was 
renamed  when  consecrated  as  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin, 
that  is,  "ornamented."  There  is  nothing  to  see  in  the 
interior  save  the  fine  mosaic  which  covers  the  dome,  and 
represents  the  Baptism  of  Christ  in  the  Jordan.  These 
mosaics  were  erected  after  the  Baptistery  became  Catholic, 
and  date  therefore  from  about  560.  The  river  is  depicted 
as  a  pagan  river  god  holding  an  urn  from  which  the  water 
issues,  and  the  Christ  is  standing  in  it.  All  around  as  in 
the  other  Baptistery  are  the  Apostles,  including  St.  Paul, 
each  of  them  carrying  his  crown  of  glory  and  martyrdom 
save  the  two  Apostles,  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  who  bear, 
the  one  the  keys  and  the  other  the  sword.  They  are 
moving  around  the  circle  towards  an  altar  which  is  throne- 
like, and  has  a  cushion  and  a  cross  upon  it. 

The  ancient  font  has  disappeared,  having,  it  is  said,  been 
cut  up  when  the  other  Baptistery  was  taken  over  for  use,  in 
order  that  there  should  be  baptism  at  no  other  place 
than  in  the  chief  Baptistery,  and  that  all  should  be  done 
canonically.  The  slabs  that  formed  this  font  were  used  in 
the  decoration  of  other  churches  in  the  place. 

Finally  let  us  go  out  and  see  the  **Tomb  of  Theodoric, 
called  also  Santa  Maria  della  Rotunda,  as  that  also  was 
converted  into  a  church.     It  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the 


THE   TIME   OF   THEODORIC  255 

gates  of  the  city  going  out  from  the  Porta  Serrata,  and  is  a 
very  prominent  object  as  the  train  comes  into  Ravenna.  It 
cannot  fail  to  be  seen,  as  from  its  great  size  and  unusual 
appearance  it  is  very  noticeable.  It  stands  now  in  a  small 
garden  and  has  a  custodian  of  its  own,  who  charges  a  small 
fee  for  admission  to  it. 

It  was  erected,  as  1  have  already  said,  by  the  daughter  of 
Theodoric,  Amalasuntha,  who  appealed  to  Justinian  for 
protection  after  her  father's  death.  It  is  a  very  mysterious 
building,  and  very  little  is  known  of  its  history. 

The  great  mass  of  Istrian  stone  which  covers  its  roof  is 
a  marvel  in  itself,  as  its  huge  size  and  weight  (nearly  five 
hundred  tons)  must  have  rendered  the  operation  of  placing 
it  in  position  one  of  supreme  difficulty. 

The  inscriptions  upon  it  have  been  added  at  a  later  time, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  for  the  story  that  at  one  time  there 
stood  statues  of  the  twelve  Apostles  upon  this  roof,  on  the 
projecting  perforated  handles  that  are  round  about  the  mass. 
The  word  that  we  have  used  by  which  to  designate  them 
probably  is  the  right  one,  and  they  were  used,  we  believe,  to 
move  the  great  stone  into  its  position.  Beneath  the  stone  is 
the  sepulchral  chamber  in  which  at  one  time  the  bones  of  the 
great  monarch  were  deposited,  but  in  the  revulsion  of  feeling 
that  followed  upon  his  death,  and  when  all  his  churches 
were  consecrated  to  the  Catholic  faith  and  the  heresy  of 
Arianism  exterminated,  the  remains  of  the  Emperor  were 
taken  from  his  tomb  and  buried  elsewhere. 

Beneath  this  room  is  another,  in  the  form  of  a  cross, 
with  an  interesting  west  doorway,  which  was,  it  is  believed, 
intended  as  a  burying-place  for  other  members  of  the  royal 
house,  and  was  actually  used  as  the  place  of  sepulture  for 
certain  notable  personages.  It  has  been  recently  cleared  of 
the  water  that  for  years  filled  it,  and  can  now  be  readily 
inspected,  and  to  architects  will  offer  some  interesting  evi- 
dence of  the  method  of  vaulting  an  arch  adopted  in  the 
days  of  its  erection,  and  of  the  admirable  manner  in  which 
the  doorway  is  arranged  by  means  of  huge  stones  notched 
and  double  notched  into  one  another. 


256  RA  VENN  A 

Every  arch  is  erected  in  this  way,  and  the  whole  is  built 
with  the  greatest  ingenuity  and  strength. 

The  stairway  by  which  one  ascends  to  the  upper  room 
was  added  within  the  past  century,  but  originally  there  was 
a  sort  of  colonnade  around  this  upper  part,  portions  of  which 
yet  remain  and  are  to  be  found  inside  the  sepulchre.  It  is  not 
known  how  access  originally  was  given  to  the  upper  room. 

The  huge  roof  was  cracked  by  lightning,  and  in  this  way 
the  accuracy  was  proclaimed,  it  is  said,  of  an  old  legend 
which  foretold  the  death  of  the  monarch  by  lightning,  as  the 
flash  destroyed  most  of  his  remains  and  the  cypress-wood 
chair  in  which  the  Emperor  was  seated  in  his  robes,  and  left 
only  bones  remaining,  which  a  few  months  afterwards  were 
themselves  to  be  scattered  in  other  burying-places,  by  the 
zeal  of  those  who  extirpated  his  heresy. 

The  tomb  now  stands  as  a  dignified  erection,  imposing  in 
its  size  and  strength,  and  in  the  summer,  when  encircled 
with  creepers  and  surrounded  by  flowers,  it  is  a  peculiarly 
beautiful  sight,  and  seems  then  to  belong  far  more  to  the 
living  than  to  the  dead. 

The  period  of  the  time  of  Theodoric  in  Ravenna  is  the 
most  important  of  its  history  as  regards  the  prosperity  of  the 
people.  He  was  a  man  of  the  sternest  impartiality,  a  great 
lover  of  truth  and  justice,  an  upright  warrior,  an  honourable 
ruler.  He  took  great  interest  in  his  people,  encouraged  them 
in  their  enterprises,  assisted  them  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
fields  with  loans  of  money,  and  with  protection  and  labour, 
and  during  the  few  years  in  which  he  resided  in  Ravenna 
the  place  flourished.  This  great  massive  tomb  is  a  fitting 
emblem  of  so  strong,  so  resolute,  and  so  noble  a  monarch, 
who  but  for  his  unfortunate  attachment  to  a  deadly  heresy 
would  have  been  one  of  the  greatest  monarchs  that  the 
times  had  produced. 


JUSTINIAN   AND   THEODORA  257 

D.  JUSTINIAN  AND  THEODORA  IN 

RAVENNA 

Succeeding  upon  the  times  of  Theodoric  came,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  the  rule  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Justinian, 
and  to  that  time  belong  the  three  remaining  buildings 
which  we  must  visit  in  search  of  mosaics. 

The  archbishop  of  the  see  was  Sant'  Ecclesio,  and  the 
first  church  that  he  appears  to  have  had  erected  was  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore,  in  the  Via  Gaetano  Monti ;  but  save  for 
some  fine  marble  columns  and  a  curious  seventh-century 
ambo  or  pulpit  there  is  nothing  of  importance  in  this  church, 
and  its  Campanile  is  all  that  remains  of  the  original 
structure. 

Close  to  it,  however,  stands  the  fine  Church  of  **San 
Vitale,  which  the  same  archbishop  built  on  the  site  of  the 
martyrdom  of  San  Vitale,  and  which  was  consecrated  by  a 
succeeding  archbishop,  St.  Maximian. 

It  contains  the  finest  mosaics  in  Ravenna,  and  will,  when 
the  present  work  is  completed,  be  specially  remarkable.  It 
is  always  somewhat  distressing  to  find  a  church  in  the  hand 
of  the  restorer,  but  in  the  case  of  San  Vitale  the  work  is 
being  done  so  carefully,  and  the  additions  to  the  original 
structure  were  of  such  surpassing  ugliness  and  covered  up 
so  much  fine  work,  that  very  much  of  the  customary  dis- 
content is  not  only  driven  away  when  the  work  is  examined, 
but  is  turned  into  approval. 

The  architect,  a  learned  Professor  Bocci,  has  made  many 
important  discoveries  in  the  church,  revealing  much  of  the 
older  work  that  had  become  covered  up,  and  showing  which 
was  the  original  entrance,  besides  exposing  some  decoration 
of  great  merit ;  and  as  on  account  of  the  wet  it  was  needful 
to  do  something  with  the  church,  it  is  well  that  the  repair 
has  fallen  into  such  good  hands. 

The  hideous  painting  which  now  disfigures  the  interior, 
will,  I  hope,  be  removed.  There  is  a  petition  being  got  up 
to   the   Government  to  order  this   work   to  be  done,  and 

R 


258  RAVENNA 

in   the    interests    of  the   building,   it    will   I   hope   be   suc- 
cessful. 

The  church  is  octagonal,  with  a  choir,  and  has  eight  fine 
pillars,  which  divide  the  central  space  from  what  may  be 
termed  the  ambulatory.  These  columns  are  adorned  with 
capitals  of  great  merit  and  beauty,  and  those  above  them 
in  the  second  storey  are  still  finer.  The  lower  part  of  the 
columns  is  covered  with  fine  slabs  of  marble,  which  have 
been  reversed  by  later  builders,  and  set  against  one  another 
to  form  huge  splayed  patterns,  and  in  this  way  the  decora- 
tive value  of  the  original  work  has  been  set  at  naught.  It 
is  possible,  now  that  the  work  is  in  progress,  to  ascend  not 
only  into  the  upper  storey,  from  which  the  best  view  of  many 
of  the  mosaics  is  obtained,  but  higher,  even  into  the  roof,  and 
so  appreciate  the  extreme  ingenuity  with  which  the  building 
was  erected  and  the  splendid  manner  in  which  the  work 
was  done.  The  roof  is  circular,  as  is  in  fact  the  whole 
church  above  the  upper  storey. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  choir  that  the  chief  interest  of  this 
church  consists,  and  in  the  mosaics  that  adorn  it.  They 
were  done  in  the  early  sixth  century,  and  have  been  tampered 
with  but  very  little.  They  differ  materially  from  the  mosaics 
in  the  Baptistery,  into  which  we  first  went ;  and  which  are  a 
century  older,  as  the  former  are  bolder,  stronger,  and  more 
in  broad  full  outline  than  are  these,  which  are  fuller  of  detail 
and  finish,  and  devote  much  more  attention  to  features  and 
ornaments. 

The  most  remarkable  ones  are  inside  the  apse  at  the 
back  of  the  altar,  which,  as  in  all  these  early  churches, 
stands  out  away  from  the  wall  in  the  chord  of  the  arch. 

On  the  left  is  the  Emperor  Justinian,  holding  a  sort  of 
basket  in  which  are  gifts,  and  having  on  one  side  of  him 
the  archbishop  with  two  attendant  priests,  and  on  the  other 
two  attendants  in  white  and  some  soldiers.  The  archbishop 
holds  a  cross  in  his  hands,  and  the  priests  with  him  hold 
the  book  of  the  Gospels  and  the  censer,  and  are  evidently 
deacon  and  subdeacon. 

Opposite  to  this  panel  is  another  one  depicting  the  famous 


JUSTINIAN  AND   THEODORA  259 

Empress  Theodora  bringing  her  chalice  or  cup  of  gifts,  and 
attended  by  her  ladies,  who  are  clad  in  rich  costumes,  and 
by  two  acolytes,  to  whom  she  is  giving  her  gifts  for  them  to 
present  at  the  altar. 

The  colouring  of  these  superb  mosaics  is  splendid,  as  clear 
and  as  fresh  as  when  first  done,  and  glowing  with  light. 

In  the  apse  itself  is  Our  Lord  between  two  angels,  St. 
Vitale  standing  on  His  right  and  receiving  from  a  seraph 
a  crown  of  glory,  and  on  the  left  St.  EutycMus  presenting 
the  Church  to  Christ. 

On  the  arch  are  Our  Lord  and  His  Apostles,  with  SS. 
Gervasius  and  Protasius,  sons  of  San  Vitale,  of  whom  we 
spoke  when  in  their  church  in  Milan,  which  is  now  called 
Sant'  Ambrogio. 

Close  to  the  altar  above  the  two  beautiful  columns  with 
fine  perforated  heads  are  other  scenes  : — 

On  the  right  the  offerings  of  Abel  and  Melchizedek  ; 
Moses  tending  the  sheep  of  his  father-in-law  ;  Moses  on 
Mount  Horeb  ;  and  Moses  taking  off  the  shoes  from  his  feet 
at  the  burning  bush,  a  hand  in  the  sky  denoting  the  Father. 

Opposite  to  them  are  :  The  Sacrifice  of  Abraham  ;  the 
Angels  who  visited  Abraham  and  Sarah  ;  Moses  on  Mount 
Sinai. 

There  are  also  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  and  the 
four  Evangelists  with  their  emblems. 

The  ancient  Greek  relief  called  the  "Throne  of  Nep- 
tune," which  is  to  be  seen  close  to  these  mosaics,  is  on 
the  right,  the  one  opposite  to  it  being  a  copy  made  at 
a  recent  date.  The  original  one  is  very  fine  and  full  of 
power  and  dignity.  The  splendid  columns  of  this  church 
are  all  worth  examination,  not  only  because  of  the  beauty 
of  the  marble,  but  also  for  the  sake  of  the  delightful  open- 
work capitals  which  surmount  them. 


Having  finished  at  the  Church  of  San  Vitale,  it  will  be 
well  for  you  to  obtain  a  carriage  at  the  hotel  and  drive  out 


26o  RA  VENN  A 

to  the  grand  old  Church  of  **  Sant'  ApoUinare-in-Classe, 
telhng  the  driver  to  take  you  on  your  return  homewards  to 
the  Church  of  **Santa  Maria-in-Porto  Fuori,  which  will  be 
described  by  me  in  the  next  chapter.  When  you  have  seen 
these  churches  you  will  only  have  the  Museum  and  Picture 
Gallery  left  and  the  tomb  of  Dante,  and  having  seen  them 
you  will  be  able  to  rest  with  the  assurance  that  you  have 
seen  all  the  chief  sights  of  this  fascinating  city. 

We  will  therefore  journey  off  together  now  to  the  site  of 
the  ancient  town  of  Classis,  which  we  saw  depicted  in 
mosaic  in  the  Church  of  Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo,  and  about 
which  at  the  beginning  of  our  visit  I  gave  you  some  in- 
formation. We  have  to  drive  some  three  and  a  half  miles 
towards  Rimini  across  a  wide  flat  marshy  plain,  in  the  midst 
of  which  now  stands  this  fine  church,  the  sole  remaining 
building  of  the  once  important  port  of  Classis. 

At  one  time  all  the  plain  between  the  two  cities  was  filled 
with  habitations,  and  the  important  city  of  Csesarea  filled 
up  the  district  that  was  between  Ravenna  and  Classis, 
almost  touching  its  neighbour  on  either  hand.  Now  all  is 
gone,  and  of  Caesarea  nothing  that  was  in  its  great  basilica 
of  San  Lorenzo  remains  on  the  site,  and  only  some 
splendid  columns  which  stand  in  the  Church  of  Santa 
Maria-in-Porto  remain  of  all  its  treasures.  The  basilica 
stood  till  the  sixteenth  century,  but  was  then  destroyed,  and 
now  the  site  of  Caesarea  is  a  bare  plain.  As  soon  as  we 
cross  the  Ponte  Nuovo,  which  is  over  the  united  rivers  of 
the  Ronco  and  the  Montone,  and  was  erected  by  the 
Cardinal  Legate  Alberoni,  we  get  a  sight  of  the  imposing 
basilica  to  which  we  are  going,  and  as  we  drive  up  at  its 
doors  and  look  at  its  very  bare  uninteresting  front,  we  are 
given  no  idea  whatever  of  the  splendour  that  is  within. 

It  is  well  to  notice  over  the  doorway  that  there  still  remain 
the  Roman  bronze  hooks  that  were  used  to  support  the 
velarium,  or  curtain,  that  at  one  time,  for  great  festivals, 
spread  itself  over  the  entrance.  It  is  also  well  to  mark 
the  great  Campanile,  stately  and  simple,  and  peculiarly 
Ravennese  in  its  structure  and  in  the  severity  of  its  architec- 


JUSTINIAN  AND   THEODORA  261 

ture.  It  was  probably  erected  more  as  a  watch-tower  and 
ornamental  structure  and  perhaps  partly  as  a  place  of  retreat 
that  would  be  strong  than  for  the  purpose  for  which  such 
towers  are  now  erected,  as  bells  were  not  used  in  the  early 
days  in  which  these  towers  were  erected  and  did  not  come 
into  use  for  a  century  after  their  time. 

We  may  well  look  upon  it  mainly  as  a  watch-tower. 

On  entering  the  church  (which  is  readily  opened  by  the 
old  man  or  woman  who  seem  to  be  the  only  inhabitants  of 
this  deserted  spot),  we  shall  be  at  once  struck  by  the 
majesty  and  dignity  of  its  size  and  proportions.  The  walls 
are  green  with  damp,  and  the  church  has  a  strange  deserted 
and  forlorn  look,  standing  as  it  does  now,  far  away  from  all 
population,  a  monument  of  times  long  passed  away.  I  would 
recommend  you  on  entering  it  to  retain  your  cloak  or  coat, 
and  even  to  put  on  extra  covering,  as  the  interior  strikes 
often  very  cold,  and  a  chill  can  be  quickly  obtained  within 
its  walls.  Go  forward  at  once  to  the  high  altar  and  look 
at  the  mosaics  that  adorn  the  apse.  They  are  the  latest 
that  we  have  yet  seen,  but  the  word  "  late  "  in  Ravenna  only 
means  the  sixth  century,  and  these  splendid  mosaics  are 
considerably  over  a  thousand  years  old.  Very  little  indeed 
has  ever  been  done  to  these  mosaics,  and  they  shine  out  to- 
day as  they  did  when  first  erected  twelve  hundred  years  ago. 
They  are  extraordinarily  full  of  symbolism. 

The  upper  part  is  said  to  represent  a  symbolic  treatment 
of  the  Transfiguration  or  of  the  appearance  of  the  Divine 
Son.  The  face  of  Christ  is  to  be  seen  in  the  centre  of  a 
large  cross  which  stands  upon  a  blue  star-studded  sky,  and 
pointing  towards  it  is  to  be  seen  a  hand  which  typifies  God 
the  Father.  Above  the  Cross  is  the  Greek  sacred  monogram, 
on  its  arms  the  letters  Alpha  and  Omega,  and  at  its  foot  the 
words  "  Salus  Mundir  Moses  and  Elijah  occupy  places 
on  either  side,  and  the  three  sheep  below  typify  the  Apostles 
SS.  Petei',  James,  and  John.  In  the  centre  can  be  seen  the 
patron  saint  of  Ravenna  and  Classis,  Sant'  Apollinare, 
preaching  to  the  faithful,  represented  as  a  flock  of  sheep. 

The  figures  between  the  windows  are  four  of  the  greatest 


262  RA  VENN  A 

early  archbishops  of  the  see,  Saints  Ecclesius,  Servius,  Ursus, 
and  Ursicinus. 

The  scenes  on  the  left  and  right  wall  are  as  follows  :  On 
the  right  are  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Law,  those  of  Abel 
with  the  Lamb,  Melchizedek  with  Bread  and  Wine,  and 
Abraham  with  his  Son. 

Opposite  is  the  demand  of  Archbishop  Reparatus  from 
the  Emperor  Constantinus  IV.,  for  freedom  for  his  diocese, 
a  demand  which  the  Emperor,  attended  by  Heraclius  and 
Tiberius,  granted  as  represented  by  the  scroll  which  he  is 
handing  to  the  courageous  bishop  with  the  word  upon  it 
'■'•  PrivilegiaP  This  mosaic  is  later  still  than  the  other,  having 
been  put  up  in  668. 

On  the  rood  arch  are  yet  other  mosaics  depicting  the 
Christ  with  the  Evangelists  (represented  by  their  symbols)  ; 
the  cities  of  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem,  from  which  flocks  of 
the  faithful  (as  sheep)  are  ascending  towards  our  Lord  ;  and 
below  the  Archangels  St.  Michael  and  St.  Gabriel,  St. 
Matthew  and  St.  Luke,  and  some  splendid  decorative 
borders.  Before  leaving  the  elevated  altar  notice  the  ancient 
throne  of  another  sainted  archbishop,  St.  Damianus  (688- 
705),  which  has  been  cut  in  half  and  used  to  form  the  ends 
of  the  sedilia  for  the  clergy,  on  either  side  of  the  high  altar. 
The  Baldacchino  of  the  altar  is  modem,  but  the  four  columns 
which  support  it  are  of  a  rare  black-and-white  ancient 
marble  from  Egypt,  which  is  of  great  beauty  in  its  markings. 
It  is  well  also  to  notice  the  long  Latin  inscriptions  which 
are  all  around  the  wall  of  the  choir,  and  which  relate  the 
story  of  the  Church  and  the  events  which  attended  the 
removal  of  the  remains  of  the  patron  saint  from  this  church 
into  Ravenna  and  back  again. 

It  is  unfortunately  impossible  to  enter  the  crypt,  which  is 
one  of  great  beauty,  the  columns  supporting  the  roof  and  the 
pavement  being  particularly  interesting  and  of  fine  and  rare 
marble,  but  the  whole  cr>'pt  is  full  of  water  even  up  to  the 
step  of  the  doorway,  and  care  must  be  taken  when  you  look 
in  at  the  door  that  forms  the  entrance  to  this  crypt  that  you 
do  not  step  down  into  the  unwholesome  green  water.     The 


yUSTINIAN  AND   THEODORA  263 

urn  is  in  the  crypt  in  which  at  one  time  were  the  remains  of 
the  saint,  but  they  now  rest  safely  below  the  stone  of  the 
altar.  There  is  a  splendid  bronze  grating  also  in  the 
crypt. 

For  a  long  period  these  precious  bones  were  buried  in  a 
sort  of  Confession  which  is  in  the  centre  of  the  nave,  and 
which  takes  the  form  of  a  small  altar,  dedicated  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  which  was  erected  in  the  sixth  century  by 
Archbishop  Saint  Maximianus,  but  in  the  twelfth  century  the 
remains  were  transferred  to  the  crypt. 

All  around  the  walls  can  be  seen  the  portraits  of  the 
various  archbishops  of  this  important  see  of  Ravenna,  132 
in  number  coming  down  to  the  latest  occupant  of  the  see, 
but  these  portraits  were  some  of  them  originally  in  mosaic, 
and  below  them  were  splendid  marble  slabs  all  of  which 
were  carried  ofif  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  by 
Sigismondo  Malatesta  when  he  was  erecting  the  famous 
Temple  at  Rimini.  The  present  portraits  were  painted 
after  that  time  in  order  to  commemorate  as  far  as  possible 
the  original  series  of  mosaic  ones,  and  have  been  added  to 
from  time  to  time  ever  since. 

The  splendid  marble  sarcophagi  all  round  the  church  will 
attract  attention.  There  are  ten  in  all.  The  first  is  of  San 
Teodoro,  who  lived  in  688,  above  which  in  the  wall  is  an 
inscription  relating  the  benefits  conferred  upon  the  Church  by 
Leo  III.  The  second  has  upon  it  the  representation  of  Our 
Lord  and  the  Twelve' Apostles.  The  third  is  that  of  Grazioso 
(784-788),  the  fourth  that  of  John  VI 1 1.  (777-784)-  The  fifth 
is  an  unknown  one  of  the  sixth  century,  and  has  two  peacocks 
upon  it.  The  seventh  is  that  of  St.  Felix  (706-723),  and  is  an 
important  work.  The  eighth  is  a  seventh  century  one,  and 
near  it  is  a  celebrated  inscription  commemorating  the  pen- 
ance of  Otho  III.,  who  passed  forty  days  in^this  basilica.  The 
ninth  is  an  unknown  one,  and  the  tenth  is  that  of  John  V. 
(607-613). 

Behind  the  second,  on  the  left,  is  the  place  in  which  for  a 
time  the  bones  of  Sant'  Apollinare  were  hidden  in  the  wall, 
as  the  inscription  commemorates. 


264  RA  VENN  A 

At  the  entrance  to  the  chapel  which  stands  at  the  end  of 
the  left  aisle  is  a  curious  tabernacle,  which  is  said  to  belong 
to  the  seventh  century,  and  is  now  over  a  fifteenth-century 
altar,  which  was  erected,  as  the  inscription  tells  us,  by  one 
Petrus,  a  priest,  in  honour  of  Sant'  Eleucadio,  third  arch- 
bishop of  the  see. 

The  basis  of  the  columns  which  support  the  nave  arches 
will  be  found  far  below  the  level  of  the  present  floor,  and 
their  lovely  grey  colour  should  also  be  noticed  as  distinctly 
worthy  of  attention. 

The  splendid  pine  wood^  or  Pineta,  which  lies  beyond 
Classis,  is  worth  visiting,  if  you  have  plenty  of  time,  or  part 
of  it  will  be  seen  from  the  rail  if  you  travel  on  from  Ravenna 
to  Rimini.  It  has  been  celebrated  for  centuries,  partly 
because  of  its  position  in  the  midst  of  this  dreary  flat  marsh, 
and  partly  for  the  great  beauty  of  many  of  its  oldest  trees. 
Dante  sang  of  the  beauties  of  this  Pineta,  and  Boccaccio 
made  it  the  scene  of  many  of  his  stories.  It  is  full  of  attrac- 
tion for  the  artist,  but  situated  as  it  is  in  the  midst  of  a 
malarious  district,  the  greatest  care  must  be  taken  by  persons 
who  desire  to  settle  for  a  while  under  its  magnificent  trees, 
and  use  its  charms  as  the  inspiration  for  their  pictures.  We 
will  now  leave  Classis  thinking  of  all  that  the  city  has  seen, 
and  remembering  that  once  here  rode  at  anchor  the  greatest 
fleets  of  the  Roman  Empire,  where  now  there  are  but  a 
few  cottages  and  a  great  and  magnificent  but  lonely  and 
deserted  church. 


K  FRESCO-WORK  AT  RAVENNA 

The  fresco-work  in  Ravenna  is  not  of  any  special  extent  or 
of  very  great  importance,  but  it  must  not  be  overlooked. 

We  know  that  between  13 17  and  1320,  Giotto  was  at 
Ravenna  staying  with  his  friend  Dante,  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  the  place,  and  the  great  artist  has  left  behind  him 
many  marks  of  his  residence.  The  Church  of  Santa  Maria- 
in-Porto  Fuori,  to  which  we  drive  as  we  turn  from  Classis 


FRESCO-WORK  AT  RAVENNA  265 

back  into  Ravenna,  was  said  at  one  time  to  be  decorated 
throughout  by  the  frescoes  of  Giotto  and  two  of  his  pupils 
who  worked  with  him  in  the  church. 

The  decoration  was  the  gift  of  a  notary,  one  Graziadeo, 
who,  in  1246,  provided  a  sum  of  money  to  defray  the  work 
in  this  church  to  which  he  had  a  pecuhar  devotion,  owing  to 
his  close  attachment  to  the  Holy  House  of  Loreto,  which  at 
that  time  had  control  of  the  building.  It  is  known  that 
Maso  da  Paenza,  Rastello  of  Forli,  and  a  Ravenna  artist, 
one  Griovanni,  worked  in  the  church,  but  nothing  can  be 
definitely  proved  as  to  the  work  of  Giotto  himself,  although 
the  character  of  much  of  the  work  that  remains  would  indi- 
cate his  hand  or  at  least  his  instruction. 

The  following  may  be  suggested  as  the  subjects  of  the 
frescoes  that  remain,  but  many  of  them  have  so  perished  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  determine  what  they  represent.  The  work 
of  Giotto  himself,  will,  I  think,  be  found  in  the  choir. 

T/ie  Nave. — On  a  wall  to  the  left,  Madonna  and  Child 
with  four  saints,  and  also  St.  Julian. 

T/ie  Rood  Arch. — The  Redeemer  in  the  centre.  Antichrist 
and  the  Martyrdom  of  certain  saints  on  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  the  Angels  cutting  off  the  Head  of  Antichrist,  and  below 
the  scenes  of  the  Blessed  and  the  Condemned.  There  are  also 
the  heads  of  San  Ciriaco  of  Ancona  and  San  Zeno  of 
Verona. 

The  Choir. — On  the  ceiling,  the  Evangelists  with  their 
symbols,  and  the  Doctors  of  the  Church.  The  right  wall, 
the  Coronation,  the  Death,  and  the  Assumption  of  the 
Madonna,  and  near  by,  Our  Lord  instituting  Holy  Com- 
munion, the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  and  a  scene 
representing  a  monk  and  a  lady  in  a  balcony,  supposed  to 
represent  St.  Francis  and  St.  Clare. 

On  the  left  wall,  the  Birth  and  Presentation  of  the 
Madonna,  in  which  the  last  two  figures  on  the  right  are  said 
to  be  portraits  of  Giotto,  and  of  Guido  da  Polenta,  the 
protector  of  Dante. 

Left  Chapel. — Pope  Giovanni  asking  permission  of  Theo- 
doric  to  build  a  church  ;  the  Imprisonment  of  the  Pope  for 


266  RA  VENN  A 

disobedience  to  the  orders  of  the  Emperor,  and  the  Martyr- 
dom of  some  unknown  saint. 

Rr'j^/if  Chapel. — St.  John  baptizing  a  King  ;  the  preaching 
of  San  Pier  degli  Onesti,  and  his  consolation  of  the  suffering 
and  troubled  people ;  scenes  from  the  life  of  Saint  Matthew, 
his  call,  martyrdom,  and  death  ;  and  figures  of  angels  and 
saints. 

At  the  end  of  the  apse,  the  three  Maries  and  the  unbelief 
of  St.  Thomas,  and  in  front  of  the  Chancel  arch,  portraits  of 
Sant'  Apollinare,  and  Sant'  Antonio  Abate. 

The  depth  to  which  the  church  has  sunk  in  the  soft 
marshy  ground  can  be  seen  by  examining  the  bases  of  the 
columns,  and  as  the  whole  church  is  very  damp  and  malarious, 
it  is  not  advisable  to  stay  long  in  it  or  to  enter  it  without  an 
extra  wrap. 

The  Campanile  will  attract  attention  as  it  rises  out  of  the 
remains  of  an  ancient  Roman  pharos,  or  fire-house,  the 
primitive  lighthouse  that  was  used  to  guide  the  ships  into 
the  neighbouring  port  of  Classis. 

Having  looked  at  these  quaint  and  almost  perished  works, 
and  remarked  on  the  curious  plaster  relief  haloes  which  the 
saints  bear,  and  the  naive  and  attractive  way  in  which  the 
stories  are  so  simply  and  yet  so  decisively  told,  let  us 
drive  back  into  the  city  to  the  Church  of  San  Giovanni 
Evangelista  into  which  we  have  already  been  and  ex- 
amine the  **  frescoes  in  the  fourth  chapel  on  the  left, 
which  are  most  certainly  by  Griotto,  and  are  all  that  remain 
of  his  work  inside  the  city  walls.  They  represent  the 
Evangelists  and  the  Doctors  of  the  Church,  and  are  of 
unusual  interest,  although  in  places  they  have  been  touched 
up.  The  figure  of  St.  Matthew  mending  his  pen  is  quite 
delightful,  and  all  the  others  are  full  of  quaint  conceits 
which  cannot  fail  to  recall  the  Arena  frescoes.  The  figures 
are  those  of  SS.  Augustine,  Ambrose,  Gregory,  and  Jerome, 
and  the  Evangelists,  SS.  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John. 


MUSEUMS  AND  PICTURE  GALLERY        267 


K  THE  MUSEUMS  AND  PICTURE  GALLERY 

We  have  not  much  space  in  which  to  describe  the 
Museums  of  Ravenna,  and  fortunately  for  us  they  do  not 
demand  as  much  space  as  those  of  other  towns  save  for 
one  or  two  special  things. 

In  the  first  room  in  the  gallery  the  two  works  by  Rondi- 
nello  are  the  only  important  ones,  and  they  are  quite 
beautiful,  especially  the  one  with  the  Madonna  and  Child, 
SS.  Catherine  and  Jerome. 

Rondinello  was  a  pupil  of  Bellini,  and  worked  much  at 
Ravenna  and  at  Forli  near  by.  His  colour  is  sweet  and  good 
and  his  pictures  are  well  composed. 

There  are  two  works  of  Luca  Longhi  in  this  room. 

In  the  next  is  a  crowded  and  powerful  Vasari,  entirely 
lacking  in  pathos. 

A  little  farther  on  we  enter  the  room  which  contains  one 
of  the  treasures  of  Ravenna,  the  **  recumbent  statue 
of  Guidarello  Guidarelli,  by  Tullio  Lombard!.  As  there 
is  a  small  pamphlet  issued  by  Dr.  Ricci  concerning  this 
statue  to  be  obtained  in  Ravenna,  I  will  not  in  these  pages 
enter  into  any  statement  as  to  who  he  was,  or  respecting 
the  sculptor  who  executed  the  statue,  satisfying  myself  with 
stating  that  the  warrior  died  close  to  Ravenna,  and  that 
the  statue  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  two  finest  in  Northern 
Italy.  The  head  is  a  little  constrained  in  position  and 
could  not  have  fallen  quite  as  it  does  in  the  marble,  but 
when  once  this  criticism  is  made,  there  is  little  more  to 
be  said,  as  we  shall  be  gazing  at  one  of  the  most  marvellous 
effigies  of  the  sleep  of  death  that  was  ever  executed.  The 
warrior  is  at  peace,  he  is  in  a  sound  sleep,  but  never  to 
wake  again,  and  the  eyes  fill  with  tears  as  the  full  meaning 
of  that  sleep  is  gathered  up,  and  as  one  gazes  at  the  placid 
and  wonderful  sleeping  form. 

In  the  fifth  room  there  is  a  fine  work  by  Alunno  (202) 
and  an  interesting  work  by  Fiorenzo  (211),  and  in  the 
room  beyond  there  is  a  very  curious  collection  of  pictures 


268  RA  VENN  A 

which  it  seems  specially  suitable  to  find  in  Ravenna.  It  is  a 
collection  of  Byzantine  paintings,  Eastern,  Russian,  Greek, 
some  of  them  of  great  beauty  and  in  wonderful  order,  and 
others  possessing  that  strange  resemblance  one  to  the 
other  and  all  to  a  fixed  model  that  characterises  the  sacred 
pictures  of  the  unchanging  Eastern  Church.  Numbers  269, 
284,  and  222  may  be  mentioned  as  specially  important,  but 
the  little  room  contains  many  works  of  interest  and  is  well 
worth  inspection. 


From  this  picture  gallery  we  pass  into  the  Museum 
close  at  hand. 

It  is  contained  in  the  building  of  the  old  Carthusian 
monastery  of  Classe,  and  includes  the  Church  of  St. 
Romuald  in  its  extent.  Opposite  to  the  entrance  door 
is  the  *tonib  of  the  Exarch  Isaac,  which  was  originally 
in  the  Church  of  San  Vitale,  and  which  was  erected  to  his 
memory  by  his  wife  Susannah,  and  has  a  long  inscription 
in  Greek  upon  it  recording  his  fame,  both  in  the  East  and 
in  the  West,  and  lamenting  her  own  terrible  bereavement. 
It  was  erected  in  645,  and  is  a  fine  marble  sarcophagus  of 
the  regular  Ravenna  shape,  and  has  upon  it  reliefs  of  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi,  the  Raising  of  Lazarus,  and  the 
Delivery  of  Daniel  from  the  Lions'  Den.  The  strange  caps 
of  the  Magi  should  be  noted,  as  they  wear  them  also  in  the 
mosaic  we  have  lately  seen  in  Sant'  Apollinare  Nuovo. 

Under  the  dome  of  the  church  is  the  great  porphyry 
bath  which  was  once  in  the  palace  of  Theodoric,  and 
used  to  be  styled  his  tomb.  It  is  said  to  have  once  con- 
tained his  ashes,  and  to  have  been  in  the  mausoleum,  but 
it  is  quite  evidently  a  fine  Roman  bath,  and  probably  had 
no  connection  with  the  burying-place  of  the  Emperor,  but 
may  of  course  have  been  used  by  him  in  his  palace,  where 
until  recently  it  was  preserved. 

Close  to  it  stands  a  fine  Renaissance  shrine  of  1547,  and 
a  beautiful  Lavaho  fountain. 

In  the  sacristy  in   the  museum,  the  gold  ornaments  in 


MUSEUMS  AND  PICTURE  GALLERY        269 

Case  I.  are  worth  attention,  the  illuminations,  the  splendid 
pastoral  staff,  and  the  cover  of  a  thurible.  In  Case  II.  the 
ivories  are  of  great  importance  and  of  high  merit.  There 
are  also  some  fine  vestments.  The  gold  ornaments  have 
evident  connection  with  the  Gothic  possession  of  Ravenna 
and  with  the  time  of  Odoacer. 

Some  exquisite  perforated  panels  will  be  seen,  some 
fine  capitals,  some  portions  of  mosaic,  and  of  inscriptions  a 
great  many,  some  of  which  are  of  the  greatest  archaeological 
importance.  On  the  whole  the  museum  is  one  of  unusual 
interest,  and  contains  many  things  that,  given  plenty  of  time, 
it  will  be  worth  your  inspecting,  and  will  be  found  to  give 
information  as  to  the  past  history  of  Ravenna.  There  is  no 
catalogue  of  it  to  be  obtained. 

I  may  perhaps  add  that  as  a  memorial  of  the  time  when 
Ravenna  belonged  to  Venice  the  great  ruined  fortification 
walls  will  be  found  of  interest. 

We  have  now  only  one  more  sight  to  visit,  but  it  is  the  most 
disappointing  one,  as  in  no  way  is  it  worthy  of  its  purpose. 

The  **tomb  of  Dante  stands  close  to  the  hotel,  and  is  a 
place  of  pilgrimage  to  every  visitor,  but  it  is  a  poor,  un- 
important building,  distinguished  by  no  artistic  merit,  of 
debased  architecture,  tawdry  effect,  and  almost  vulgar  ap- 
pearance. It  contains  the  undoubted  remains  of  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  men,  and  it  is  altogether  unworthy  to 
contain  them,  and  utterly  unsuitable  for  its  high  purpose. 

The  tomb  itself,  the  inscriptions  and  the  urn,  are  all  fairly 
good  in  execution,  but  for  so  supremely  great  a  man  they  are 
an  unfitting  memorial,  and  the  building  in  which  they  are 
contained  is  only  rendered  important  by  reason  of  the 
sacred  ashes  which  it  holds. 

A^.^. — Hotels  recommended  : — 

Milan  :  Hotel  de  la  Villa. 
Verona  :  Hotel  Europa. 
Padua  :  Hotel  Fanti. 
Bologna  :  Hotel  Brun. 
Ravenna  :  Hotel  Byron. 


INDEX  OF    NOTABLE    NAMES 


AND    PLACES  :^-'^.' 


/  (S5>,.  c'<r./  ..ro, 

Abatk.  217 

Adige  River,  127 

Agata,  Santa,  Church  of,  248 

Agnello,  Sant',  241 

Aistulf,  236 

Aix  la  Chapelle,  236 

Alba,  Macrino  d',  124 

Albaiii,  218,  219 

Altichieri,  144,  146,  177 
. '  Alunno,  Niccolo,  93,  230,  267 
■  -  Amalasuntha,  235,  255  ^^ 

Ambrogio,  San,  Church  of,  42^t/^ 

Ambroie,  St.,  41 

Ambrosian  Liturgy,  61.^  . 


3.  rlr: 

Belisarius",  235 

Bellini,  94,  103,  104,  150,  152      x_ 

Bentivoglio  Family,  81,  192,  221 

Benozzi,  San  Filippo,  209 

Bernardino,  San,  Church  of,  138 

Besozzi,  84 
."-^evilacqua,  73,  90 

Boccaccio,  264 

Boltratifio,  74,  100,  112,  116 
;  JJonifacio,  97,  188 
'•- corgognone,  73,91,  102,  112,  115, 
121,  124  -    /.-?1-    ^ 

Borromeo  Palace,  11 /■ 

Borromeo,  San  Carlo,  28,  59,  204 


Ambrosiana  Library,  112  f<'i/':;/,^\'<- Botanical  Garden,  Padua,  186 


Anastasia,  Sant',  Church  of,  133, 

143 
Angelo,  Michel,  202 
Angeloptes,  San  Giovanni.  241 
Antenor,  151 
Anthony,  Saint,  161,  i8i 
ApoUinare,  Nuovo,  Church  of,  250 
Apollinare  in  Classe,  Church  of,  260 
Apostoli,  SS.,  Church  of,  158 
Aquillinus,  St.,  34 
Aquinas,  St.  I'homas,  204 
Archbishop's  Palace,  Verona,  143 
Archiginnasio,  205,  226 
Arena  Chapel,  162 
Arena,  Verona,  126 
Arian  Baptistery,  253,  254 
Arian  heresy,  249-250 
Aribert,  Archbishop,  56 
Asinelli  Tower,  200 
Ataulphus,  King,  32 
Avanzi,  177,  212,  230 

';  r      '     ■  ,  ,  ■     ,'.■  Jf 
Bambaja,  69   -- .• 
Bandello,  Matteo,  85 
Barbarossa,  Emp.  Fred.,  31,  36 
Bartolomeo,  Fra,  109 
Basaiti,  Marco,  188 


Botticelli,  107 
Bramante,  77^ 


Bramantino,  73,  116,  214.7 //r/"!./, 
Brera  Gallery,  88 


Brivio,  Stephano,  39. 
Brusasorci,  149 
Buttinone,  72 
Byzantium,  236 


?\» 


Cyi-:sAR[-;A,  260 
Campagna,  Girolamo  da,  159 
Campione,  66.'" 
Caracci,  The,  217,  229,  233 
Caradosso,  60 
Caroto,  148,  151 
Carpaccio,  104,  105,  no 
Carrara  Family,  175 
Carricciolo,  57 
Casio,  Pandolfi  di,  223 
Castelfranco,  Gughelmo  da, 
. Castello,  Milan,  64 
Cavazzola,  148,  151 
Ocilia,  Capella  Santa,  211 
Cecilia,  St.,  227 

Cenacolo  at  Milan,  35-7:?.  ''■•C77. 
Certosa  at  Bologna,  2^3 
Certosa,  The,  54,  119. cT-^,-  J 


133 


.^« 


7-.  .^^o-i-j-i 

<^^-&^  <^rt^<k^   .    1.  'i 

Charlemagne,  236 
Chiaravallo,  119 
Cima,  94,  no    'oS^ 
Civerchio,  73 
Classis,  260 
Colleone,  179 
,-Coiistamius  II.,  246 
Conti,  Giovanni,  35 
Correggio,  104 
Costa,    207,   211,    213,    215,   220, 

223        .' 
Cossa,  100,  215,  220 
Cremona,  68 
Cristologo,  St.  Pier,  242 
Crivelli,  94,  95,  104,  152 
Croce,  Girolarao  da  Santa,  191 

Dalmasio,  Lippo,  231 
Damianus,  St.,  262 
Dante,  264,  269 

Domenichino,  107,  218,  219,  229 
.^Dominic,  Saint,  203 
'TDominico,  San,  Church  of,  202, 

226 
Donatello,  178,  179,  181 
Dossi,  Dosso,  106 
Duccio,  Agostino  di,  67 
Duomo,  Milan,  30,  61  ^  - 
Duomo,  Padua,  185 
Duomo,  Verona,  142 

Enzio,  King,  199 
Erbe,  Piazza  dell',  158 
Eremitani,  Church  of,  174 
Etruscan  nation,  192,  193 
Eustorgio,  San,  Church  of,  36 
Eutychius,  St.,  259 
Exuperantius,  St.,  241 

7  Farinati,  149,  155,  156 
Fehce,  Capella  San,  182,  183 
Felicini,  Francesco,  222 
\Fermo,  San,  Church  of,  153 
-Ferrari,    Gaudenzio,    76,   80,    c2, 
100,  iiS.^'^-  /V. 7'*-^'2-. 
Fiorenzo,  267 
Foix,  Gaston  de,  68,  237 
Foppa,  71,  72.-''  "  ■         -n.Q  b  , 
Fracastoro,  153  ' 

Francesco,   San,   Church  of,   Bo- 
logna, 208 
Francesco,   San,   Church  of,   Ra- 
venna, 247 
Francia,  105,  115,  150,  210,  212, 

215,  220,  222.VV  >3 
Frederick  II.,  237 


INDEX 


271 


Galla  Placidia,  33,  24^ 

Garisenda  Tower,  200 
vGatta  Melata,  179 

Gervasius,  St. ,  42 

Ghibellines,  The,  138,  198 

Giacomo,  Fra,  155 

Gian  Galeazzo,  54,  122,  175 

Gianpetrino,  74 

Giorgio,  San,  Church  of,  Verona. 
141 

Giocondo,  Fra,  159 

Giolfino,  148,  150 

Giorgio,  Capella  San,  183 

Giorgione,  187,  188,  189 

Giotto,  162-173,  264,  265,  266,  iS 

Giovanni,  Battista,  Church  of,  247 

Giovanni,  Evangelista,  Church  of, 
246,  266 

Giovanni,  Fra,  155,  178 

Giusti  Garden,  156 

Giustina,  Santa,  Church  of,  185 
_  Giusto  da  Padua,  177 

Graziadeo,  265 

Gregory  XI.,  205 

Guariento,  177 

Guelphs,  The,  198 

Guidorelli,  Guidorello,  68,  267 

Guido,  218,  230 

Guido  da  Polenta,  265 

Guild  Books,  215 

Hebrew  tombs,  215 
Honoria,  246 
Honorius,  234 
Honorius  II.,  246 

Imo/.-A,  Innocenzoda,  217, 229, 233 
Innocent  IV.,  237 
Isaac,  Exarch,  268 
Isolani,  Palazzo,  214 

John  XXIII.,  204 
Juliet,  Tomb  of,  160 
Julius  II.,  192,  237 
Justinian,  235 


V  Lanini,  49    ■"' 

■■Lombardi,  Alfonso,  20 

Lombard!,  Tullio,  267 

Leoni,  Leone,  57 
/Legnano,  119 

Liberale,  97 

Libri,  141,  145,  150,  151,  154 

j^ijipi,  Filippino,  203 
/  Lorenzo,  San,  Church  of,  30 

Lotto,  no.       ■ 


\ 


272 


INDEX 


Louis  XII.,  237 
Longhi,  191,  267 
Luitprand,  196,  236         ,    , 
Luini,    28,    50,    81-89,    io4>  ''■^3> 
.1    115,  117,  118,  119,  izs.-yf.^i/.jif 

/>M..-C.  .: „       ,j^'/-^ 

Maffei,  Palazzo,  159 
Magi,  Adoration  of,  36 
Magi,  Tomb  of,  36 
Malatesta,  Sigismondo,  263 
'  Mantegna,  101,  136,  176 
Manzuoli  altar-piece,  224 
Marbles  of  Italy,  253 
Maria   in  Cosmedin,   Church  of, 

253.  254 
Maria-in-Porto,  Church  of,  260 
Maria-in-Porto  Fuori,  Church  of, 

260,   264  j.:V..,  r     •  .-'   T-r~j,j 

Maria,  Sta. ,  della  Scala,  158    '   " 

Maria,  Sta.,  in  Organo,  154 

Martino,  San,  Church  of,  212 

Matsys,  Quinton,  108 

Maurizio,  San,  Church  of,  67,  81 

Ma.ximian,  St.,  237,  241 

Michele,  San,  in  Bosco,  Church  of, 
232 

Misericordia,  Church  of,  223,  225 

Montorfano,  67,  73  -'; 

Morone,  147,  154,  155' 

Moretto,  108,  109,  151 
'   Moro,  Antonio,  150 
^  vMorOj  III.  121 

5J ARSES,  236     '  ^ 
Nazaro,  San,  Church  of,  243 
Nicholas  III.,  199 
Niello-vvork,  221 
Neon,  237 

Odo.\cer,  235 

Oggiono,  Marco  d',  74,  79,  91 

Onesti,  San,  Pier  degli,  266 

Ostrogoths,  235 

Olho,  Archbishop,  56 

Otho  II.,  Emperor,  60 

Palma,  109,  188 

Palmezzano,  109 

Palliotto,   riie,  41 
.  Pantheon,  The,  34 
''/Passagi  *ri,  Roland,  201 

Pellegrini.  58 

Peilizone,  Andrea,  59 

Pepin,  236 

Perugino,  102,  103,  149,  213,  228 

Peruzzi,  232 


Peter  Martyr,  St. ,  38 .  .' ) 

Petronio,  San,  Church  of,  205,  206 

Philip  IV.,  59 

Piazzola,  Rolando,  180 

Piero  della  Francesca,  107 

Pineta,  264 

Pinturrichio,  117 

Pisa,  Niccolo  da,  180,  202 

Pisanello,  72,  145,  147 

Placidia,  see  Galla 

Polenta  Family,  247-248,  265 

Poldi-Pezzoli  Museum,  106 

Porta  Rorsari,  128 

Portinari  Family,  37 

Predis,  Ambrogio  da,  40 

Primaticcio,  217 

Protasius,  St.,  42 

QuERCiA,  Jacopo  della,  206,  211 

Ragione,  Palazzo,  159 
Raphael,  102,  115,  227 
Reparatus,  St.,  262 
Rimini,  Francesca  da,  248 
Rodriguez  Family,  226 
Romanino,  190,  191 
Romuald,  St.,  268 
Rondinelli,  267 
Rubens,  76 

SAI.AINO,   III 

Saloiie,  II,  178 

Sanmicheli,  139 

Santo,  II,  151,  184 

Saronno, 118 

.Savoia,  Bona  di,  67 

Savolda,  Girolamo,  99 

Scala  Family,  66,  130,  132 

Scappardone,  Bianca,  86 

Scappi,  altar-piece,  224 

Scrovegno,  Enrico,  162 

Servi,  Santa  Maria  dei.  Church  of, 

209 
Sesto,  Cesare  da,  74./;-; 
Sforza  Family,  28,  53,  64,  82,  221 
Signorelli,  96,  102     ft' -7. 
Sodoma,  76,  100,  154  -A/—- 
.Solario,  68,  79,  100,  iii,-' 
Spirito  Santo,  Church  of,  253 
Squarcione,  71,  152,  176,  189 
Stefano,  San,  Bologna,  195,  198 
Stefano,  San,  Church  of,  Verona, 

140 

Tamakoccio,  108 

Teodorico,  San,  Church  of,  254 


INDEX 


273 


Theatre,  Roman,  127 
Theodora,  Empress,  257 
Theodoric  the  Goth,  58,  129,  235, 

254-  256 
Theodosius,  Emperor,  50,  234 
Tibaldi,  217  -•" ' 

Ticinese,  Porta,  35 
Tiepolo,  112 
Tintoretto,  99 
Titian,  99,  149 
Torbido,  148,  152,  190 
Torcello,  99 

Torre  Family,  52,  153  .nT^. 
Trezzo,  Castle  of,  31 
Trivuizi  Family,  62  ,,  >:  i^? 
Tura,  Cosimo,  109 
Turone,  152 

'Valentinian  III.,  235 
Vasari,  267 
Venice,  175,  237,  269 


Verona,  Gian  Battista  da,  142 

Veronese,  Paolo,  98,  149 

Verla,  105 

Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  74,  78,  100 ^'i"^,; 

Vinci,  Pierino  da,  69 

Visconti  Family,  28,  35,   40,   S2„<^ 

66,  119 
Vitale,  San,  Church  of,  Bologna, 

226 
Vitale,  San,  Church  of,  Ravenna, 

257 
Viti,  Timoteo,  96,  216 
Vitigis,  236 

Vittore,  San,  Church  of,  51 
Vivarini,The,  93, 109, 110,189,231 

Zamboni,  Via,  220    ■ir^&lJUriifMrr'r 
Zenale,  72,  8o.*"f-  '       ' 

Zenio,  Stefano  da,  109,  152 
Zeno,  San,  Church  of,  134 
Zoppo,  Marco,  208 


THE  END 


Printed  by  Ballantyne,  Hanson  £r>  Co. 

Edinburgh  (5r=  London 


NOTES 


NOTES 


NOTES 


NOTES 


NOTES 


NOTES 


NOTES 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last 
date  stamped  below 


5m-8,'49(B5572)470 


VNIVERS-T  0/  (  U.IFORNU 
LOS  ANGELAS 


I;l6       The  cities  of 

Jff^Yn     northern — 

Italy, 


m 

Ul6 
w67c 


AA    000  686  245    2 


11! 

:li       I 


I!     i 


